The Unified Government is currently looking at moving the trash day for some of the Waste Management residential customers for better service.
The change could occur sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Tim Nick, of the UG Public Works staff, who spoke at a UG Public Works and Safety Committee meeting Monday night.
A recent study of Waste Management routes in Kansas City, Kansas, found that some routes were much longer than others, and often resulted in trash not being picked up until the following day. Some of the employees on those routes worked more than 12 hours a day.
Currently, there are 12 to 15 routes per day that are proposed to change to 16 routes per day, according to Kirk Suther of the UG. Currently there was a range of 785 to 900 homes for each route, and under the recommended route change, it would change to 657 to 713 homes per route, he said. There will be more trash trucks on the street, from 67 currently to 80 trucks, he said. Trucks for recycling will increase from 22 to 27 per week, he said.
These changes are expected to reduce the amount of hours to 10.34 from 12 to 13 hours currently, Suther said.
He also said the boundary changes to the trash routes will affect about 14,800 homes. There are plans to send out information by mail to all the residents whose trash routes will change. For most of the changes, they are trying to switch it to the day after the resident’s current trash day, he said. In that case, if the resident forgets and puts the trash out on the old trash day, then it would be picked up the next day, he said.
The Friday routes currently are not together, spanning from Johnson County to the Leavenworth County line, and should be changed, he said. The new Friday routes will cover fewer homes, he said.
They will try to make a special effort to contact residents at homes that are moved up one day, for example from Tuesday to Monday, he said. About 2,700 customers will be moved to the day before the current day, for example from Wednesday to Tuesday, Suther said.
Suther said reducing the number of homes on the routes and reducing the number of hours per day should help Waste Management retain employees. The company currently is recruiting, and has a $4,500 sign-on bonus. New employees start at $17 an hour, with increases available, according to Waste Management officials.
This past spring, Waste Management proposed to change to trucks with automated arms to pick up the trash in Kansas City, Kansas, but the UG Commission wanted to fix the late trash pickup problems before considering that option.
Recently, the UG asked residents to call the 311 UG telephone number with any complaints about their trash service, instead of calling the commissioners and mayor. Waste Management would be given access to the 311 calls to the UG about trash pickup. The Wyandotte Daily, however, has been contacted recently by a few customers who said they couldn’t get through on the 311 line.
Commissioner Angela Markley said she kept getting calls about late trash pickup from the Friday route.
“I know there will be some frustration with that change, but all you have to do is look at that map to realize this is a change that’s long overdue,” she said.
Commission Harold Johnson said he felt Waste Management has brought this focus upon itself. He asked the staff for the number of complaints to assess how they are doing.
Suther said the complaints could be tracked through the 311 number. At the Monday night meeting, no one had any figures available on how many complaints have been registered.
“I have had some irate constituents,” Commissioner Johnson said. He said he would like to measure progress over 30, 60 or 90 days.
Commissioner Mike Kane said he still isn’t satisfied with the service.
“Even after we complained commission night, on a Thursday,” he said, his trash wasn’t picked up a few days later on the Monday trash day, but was picked up at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. “My neighbors were taking pictures and sending them to me. We didn’t have this problem before Waste Management took over. The problem is Waste Management, not the people who work there.”
Commissioner Jane Philbrook said this issue has been going on a long time. She said she wasn’t sure why it has taken this much time, and she wasn’t really pleased with the 311 system involvement in this. She added she hasn’t heard great things from the people who have used it.
Commissioner Melissa Bynum said she has a sense that there has been improvement lately, and she is getting fewer complaints. Commissioner Johnson and other commissioners said they are still getting complaints.
Justin Vetsch, who oversees operations in Kansas City, Kansas, for Waste Management, said it is premature to understand if there has been any tangible improvement, because they haven’t had the time to measure the calls.
“This plan, hopefully, our desire is that it will allow us to stabilize our workforce, that services KCK, and provide a quality service through the economy in those routes. With that comes a service improvement that we’re hoping for,” Vetsch said.
The increase in trucks and personnel would not cost the UG any more within the current contract, according to Waste Management.
Nick said in the past, customers called Waste Management, the mayor’s office, commissioners or Public Works to complain. If they can get customers to call one central number, 311, they will know what the numbers are, he said.
“Now, a lot of people are just tired of calling,” Nick said. The numbers may be down a little, but people may be tired of calling five weeks in a row, he added.
Nick said at the end of the day, the UG gets a report from Waste Management on what routes have been completed and what areas will be picked up the next day. It would be good to notify people through social media of those changes, he said.
Commissioner Bynum said the calls must be directed to 311, so they could get information to address the issues.
Commissioner Kane said with trash pickup at 6:45 a.m. the day after the normal trash day, they were waking people up as they came through the neighborhood.
“They bought them out, they agreed to do the work, they’re not doing the work, and I’m more than frustrated because it hasn’t gotten any better since we complained the first time,” Commissioner Kane said.
The residents are tired of calling 311 about it, and the commissioners are tired of getting calls, he said.
Commissioner Philbrook said she urges everyone to call 311, but 311 isn’t working yet to the way people want it to. She said she gets calls back from residents who have called 311 and feel nothing is working.
“I just want 311 to work the way we intended it to work,” she said.
Commissioner Bynum said she is still asking the public to use 311 to report when regular trash pickup does not occur.
Nick said they are looking at a six-week timeline in the fourth quarter for Waste Management to send out a postcard, then two weeks later, another postcard as a reminder. This will be targeted only to people whose trash days are changing.