More than 75,000 people reside in Council District 10, and in the past six weeks, at least 25 percent of them have contacted me about missed garbage collection.
I also received several phone calls on the City’s policy of grass clippings collection. While I have attempted to respond to all calls, this column will serve to disseminate critical information to any I might have missed.
The contract for garbage collection passed from BFI to Laidlaw in early April. Laidlaw seemed to be unprepared to meet the terms of the contract. Most property owners missed at least one pick-up, and many missed several collections.
Every complaint was forwarded to Laidlaw. There were so many calls during the first three weeks that we had difficulty answering all of them. In fact, after making dozens of calls, each of them long distance, the company took pity on us and gave us a 1-800 number for complaints.
Thank goodness, the contract with Laidlaw includes a clause that permits the City to terminate the agreement if Laidlaw does not perform because that threat is what got their attention.
In late April, Laidlaw was given 10 days to perform well, or we would cancel the contract. As of this writing, things have improved, and I expect the service to get better over the next few weeks.
For all who are thoroughly confused about the collection schedule, I offer the following information:
Regular Garbage Collection:
- Tuesday/Friday Collection – all areas north of Forest Lane and east of Central Expressway.
- Monday/Thursday Collection – all areas south of Forest Lane and east of Central Expressway.
Bulky Objects Collection
- Week 2 – area east of Central Expressway and west of Greenville Avenue and south of Forest.
- Week 3 – area east of Audelia and south of Miller Road.
- Week 4 – area east of Greenville Avenue, south of Forest and west of Audelia from Northwest Highway to the City limits.
There have also been complaints about the collection of grass clippings, which has been discussed at Council and Committee meetings recently. The current City policy prohibits the collection of grass clippings by our Sanitation Department. Citizens may take their clippings to the Fair Oaks Transfer Station, where they will be taken to the landfill for composting.
The transfer station is located at 7677 Fair Oaks Drive and will accept grass clippings on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in addition to Wednesday and Saturday hours from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. However, experts from Texas A&M encourage leaving grass clippings on the lawn to provide inexpensive (free) fertilizer. Try it. It works!
Just a reminder – World Cup starts this month, and all of us are ambassadors for our City. Please find some time to help make this event memorable for our visitors. The volunteer hotline is 521-1994.
