AFSCME Privatization Update

Source: Fox 6 (CA), 5/03 12:27 am

Waste collection, street sweeping and road maintenance are among 11 municipal services San Diego will consider outsourcing to private businesses in an effort to save money, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced Friday (.pdf).

Privatizing the 11 services would cut 291 municipal jobs and save the city $63.1 million in expenses, according to city officials. But union officials representing city employees questioned the timing of the announcement, which came as contract negotiations between the Mayor's Office and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 127 have stalled.

...... "We are ready and willing to compete," AFSCME Local 127 President Joan Raymond said following the mayor's announcement. "We are not afraid of competition as long as the process is fair."

Posted by Info Center at 1:58 PM in Street Maintenance | Waste Management | Permalink
Tags: California

Source: Teamster's news release, March 25, 2008

The family of deceased Waste Management, Inc. (WMI) mechanic Raul Figueroa from West Palm Beach, Florida, joined safety advocates, concerned local politicians and the Teamsters Union for the release of an investigative report (.pdf) that found serious safety problems at the solid waste giant at Teamsters Local 769 in North Miami, Florida.

....... The National Commission of Inquiry into the Worker Health and Safety Crisis in the Solid Waste Industry launched an investigation into safety issues at WMI and found systemic problems within the company, characterizing WMI's safety program as using an "archaic, misguided approach".

....... The report found that 40 years after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life in an effort to fight for civil and worker rights for striking sanitation workers in Memphis, the same issues that led to the strike remain prevalent in the industry even today. The questionnaire revealed that these workers still face very real threats to their health on a daily basis. Long hours and the handling of hazardous materials without proper safety equipment are part of their daily routine.

Posted by Info Center at 2:27 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Waste Age, Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Chris Carlson

A class-action lawsuit alleges that Waste Industries USA, Raleigh, N.C., and its Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders in approving a $544 million deal to take the company private. Specifically, the suit claims the sale price "is unfair and inadequate because, among other things, the intrinsic value of Waste Industries' common stock is materially in excess of the amount offered, giving due consideration to the company's growth and anticipated operating results, net asset value and future profitability."

Posted by Info Center at 3:09 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Jamie Page, Pensacola News Journal (FL), January, 31, 2008

Escambia County plans to sue Allied Waste Services over what the county claims is the garbage hauler's $1.1 million unpaid debt.

Since mid-November, the county and Allied have been trying to come to an agreement on the county's claim that Allied owes money for commercial garbage tipping fees -- a per-ton charge for disposal of waste at the county-owned Perdido Landfill.

Posted by Info Center at 11:08 AM in Waste Management | Permalink
Tags: Florida

Source: By Erica M. Bush, The Winchester Star (VA), Thursday, November 22, 2007

Winchester -- The Frederick County Sanitary Landfill is officially off-limits to a waste management company that lost its contract with the county over alleged wrongdoing.

County Administrator John Riley confirmed on Wednesday that Browning-Ferris Industries has been denied access and prohibited from dumping any trash into the county landfill.

Posted by Info Center at 11:18 AM in Waste Management | Permalink
Tags: Virginia

Source: By Matt Barnwell, Macon Telegraph (GA), September 20, 2007

.........Waste Pro says it intends to employ all of the city workers for at least a year if they can pass a drug screen and pre-employment tests.

But it seems likely also that the company may pare down the size of the work force at some point beyond that first year.

"There's a lot of questions that are going to impact these employees and their families and this city," said Chip Warren, who represent many city workers in the Service Employees International Union.

He also wondered how older and mid-level employees would mesh their city pension contributions with Waste Pro's private retirement plan, and what the pre-employment tests might entail.

Posted by Info Center at 1:26 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Johnny Brannon, Honolulu Advertiser (HI), Wednesday, September 5, 2007

A long-delayed curbside residential recycling program will likely be launched in Mililani and Hawai'i Kai by late October, but a controversial new fee for a garbage collection option wouldn't be enforced until January.

....... The recycling program, which could later be expanded island-wide, comes more than three years after a similar project in Mililani was halted by a dispute with the union that represents city garbage workers. Then-Mayor Jeremy Harris had pushed to expand a privatized recycling project islandwide before leaving office in early 2005.

But the United Public Workers union successfully argued that the move would violate an agreement that allowed the city to shift from manual garbage collection to automated collection. Hannemann's plan calls for UPW members to collect recyclables.

Posted by Info Center at 11:33 AM in Victories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Rob Delaney, Bloomberg, July 3, 2007

Shares of Waste Management Inc., North America's largest trash hauler, surged as much as 8.9 percent after second-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates.

.......... Expenses related to a worker lockout this month may erode gains from higher prices in the third quarter, O'Donnell said.

``This was a big labor disruption for us, a lot bigger than any we've had before,'' he said, declining to quantify the loss.

Waste Management had to find replacement workers for 481 employees who were locked out of the Alameda County, California, region after contract negotiations broke down on July 6. The employees returned to work on July 26 after reaching an agreement.

Posted by Info Center at 3:49 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Chris Metinko, Oakland Tribune (CA), 07/28/2007 02:50:33 AM PDT

Waste Management of Alameda County received more good news Friday, a day after the company reached a tentative contract with its 481 locked-out drivers.

Oakland officials said at a City Hall press conference that the city will withdraw both its request for an injunction against the company and a request for penalties for a contempt-of-court charge.

Posted by Info Center at 12:28 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: The Associated Press (CA), Tue, Jul. 17, 2007

A judge weighed in Tuesday on a labor dispute that has left piles of trash on Oakland's streets and ordered a refuse company that locked out its unionized drivers to pick up the rotting garbage.

Responding to a request from city lawyers, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller issued a temporary restraining order saying Waste Management of Alameda County must fulfill the terms of its municipal contract.

Posted by Info Center at 11:19 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Chris Metinko, Inside Bay Area (CA), 07/13/2007 04:30:23 AM PDT

Oakland city officials are taking legal action against Waste Management of Alameda County to force it to collect trash that has piled up since it locked out its drivers earlier this month.

"We want the garbage picked up," Mayor Ron Dellums said.

Posted by Info Center at 10:30 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS, St Petersburg Times (FL), June 30, 2007

DADE CITY -- After almost tripling its residential customer base since the start of 2007, the trash hauler serving Dade City and parts of central Pasco has struggled with curbside service, residents and city officials say.

The problems seem to be worst in Dade City, where residents have complained to elected officials about the company, Central Carting Disposal.

Posted by Info Center at 10:49 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By BOB ANDERSON, Livingston Advocate (LA), Jun 29, 2007

LIVINGSTON — The Livingston Parish Council voted Thursday night to send a bill to Waste Management of Louisiana for late pickup of garbage.

.......After hearing parish residents complain about late trash pickups and difficulty in contacting Waste Management, the council voted unanimously to send the company a bill for tardy garbage collection when the parish is able to prove cans were left uncollected for more than a day.

Posted by Info Center at 10:23 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Johnny Brannon, Honolulu Advertiser (HI), Friday, June 29, 2007

Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday said he has no intention of dumping the firm that operates the city's Waimanalo Gulch landfill, despite criticism over a malfunctioning load-weighing scale and other problems.

......Djou said the malfunctioning scale — which may have caused the city to lose revenue from trash haulers before it was repaired and recalibrated Tuesday night — was "the straw that broke the camel's back" after several other high-profile problems.

Among the most serious is an outstanding $2.8 million state fine issued last year for numerous health and environmental violations at the landfill.

Posted by Info Center at 10:21 AM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: WRAL.com (NC), May. 10, 2007

Raleigh — The state auditor said Thursday that the Division of Waste Management got ripped off on a six-figure contract because it did not verify a contractor's paperwork.

The division paid TIRES, Inc. of Winston-Salem $320,000 to produce 20,000 rubber playground mats from old automobile tires, Auditor Les Merritt's office said in a report. The company actually made 5,700 mats, Merritt found.

Merritt said the division, part of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, should sue to get its money back and should be more careful about verifying what its contractor tell it they did.

Posted by Info Center at 11:22 AM in Audits/Reporting | Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By KAREN RICHARDSON, Wall Street Journal (subscription req.), October 21, 2006

........ Using his knowledge as a public official, he helped companies bid for municipal contracts. Two big-name clients were M.R. Beal & Co., a minority-owned New York investment bank, and Waste Management Inc., a giant garbage-hauling company based in Houston.

Municipal contracting has expanded rapidly in recent years as cities turned to private companies to provide basic services. Last year municipalities issued $408 billion in bonds to pay for filling potholes, laying sewers, wiring street lights and picking up trash -- nearly double the sum of a decade earlier. It is a business notorious for corruption, in part because of the clubby nature of city governments.

Posted by Info Center at 11:33 AM in Transportation | Waste Management | Water & Sewer | Permalink

Source: By EVAN McLAUGHLIN, Voice of San Diego, October 19, 2006

For a clue of how Mayor Jerry Sanders' proposal to allow private businesses to compete for city jobs might work, look to Indianapolis. About 2,000 miles away and with a population about half the size of San Diego, Indianapolis is being held up as a shining example of why voters should -- or shouldn't -- vote for Proposition C in the Nov. 7.

...... Indianapolis now contracts out its information technology, golf courses, wastewater treatment, some of its trash collection and snow-plowing services, and its airport operations.

In addition, some city employees in the heartland city beat out their private-sector competitors when it came time to put the services to bid, downsizing their own operations in the process.

Posted by Info Center at 11:12 AM in Information Technology | Parks & Recreation | Waste Management | Water & Sewer | Permalink

Source: By Dana Yates, San Mateo Daily Journal (CA), September 27, 2006

Poor service and years of increased garbage costs has Belmont city officials looking for an early way out of a garbage contract that expires in 2010. The Belmont City Council apologized last night for failing to notify residents about a recent 26 percent hike in garbage rates and it expressed reservations about renewing any contract through the South Bayside Waste Management Authority.

....... The current contract is written in such a way that allows Allied Waste to make adjustments in what the city owes for services, which makes it hard to predict rate increases.

Posted by Info Center at 1:59 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Michael P. Fleck, Morning Call (PA), August 7, 2006

"Privatization has not worked for Easton. Privatization has not worked for most municipalities in Pennsylvania.''

There is an old expression, ''If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.'' Currently, Easton is considering a 25-year lease of the city-owned water plant to Easton Suburban Water Authority. On the surface this looks like a great idea. The city gets a short term cash infusion, residents save on rates, and a private water expert is running the plant. But, doesn't this sound all too familiar?

It was a little over a decade ago that Easton residents were told how great private garbage collection was going to be. The city would receive a cash infusion, the residents would save money, and a private hauler would do a much better job. City leaders, at that time, sold off trucks and spent the proceeds. Now, that we do not have any trucks and the collection company has us over the barrel, or in this case over the dump truck, rates could go up as much as 300 percent. This is one example of city privatization gone poorly.

Posted by Info Center at 11:03 AM in Asset Sale/Lease | Waste Management | Water & Sewer | Permalink

Source: By CHRIS YOUNG, Treasure Coast Palm (FL), June 16, 2006

PORT ST. LUCIE — With the city's trash contract changing Oct. 1, new hauler Waste Pro is running into issues with the outgoing company Waste Management. Waste Management refused to give Waste Pro officials a list of its commercial and residential customers in May, and rebuffed City Manager Don Cooper's follow-up request last week. Waste Management's contract doesn't require the company to turn over customer information, District Manager Craig Ahal wrote in a June 5 letter to Cooper.

Posted by Info Center at 11:54 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Julian Pecquet, Tallahassee Democrat (FL), May 24, 2006

A trash-removal company that has become the target of customer complaints will no longer serve the city of Tallahassee if city commissioners go through with plans today for choosing a new company. Waste Management, North America's largest trash-collection corporation, did not seek a renewal of its seven-year contract, which expires Sept. 30. City staff members now are recommending Waste Pro USA, a newer, privately held company.

Posted by Info Center at 10:02 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Jim Johnson, Waste News, May 2006

The movement of solid waste management from municipal to private hands continues to occur, but not nearly at the pace it once did. Privatization -- when a local government essentially decides to get out of the trash business to one degree or another -- is taking place at a pace that´s held steady in recent years, said John Skinner, executive director and CEO the Solid Waste Association of North America.

Posted by Info Center at 2:19 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: KIM CHANDLER, Birmingham News (AL), Thursday, May 18, 2006

MONTGOMERY - A landfill developer and lobbyist said he showered former Gov. Don Siegelman and two staffers with gifts and cash, and they in turn helped him make money off state government. Lanny Young, a government insider and businessman with a wheeler-dealer reputation, said one of the political favors he got from the Siegelman administration was a tax break for his client, Waste Management. But first Siegelman wanted to hit the company up for a donation to his 1999 lottery campaign, Young said.

Posted by Info Center at 10:32 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat (FL), May 11, 2006

Complaints against Waste Management, the trash collection company with a contract for Leon County, are on the rise. In 2005, Waste Management received 4,898 complaints. The company averaged 15 complaints a day and 408 a month. But in the first two months of 2006, Waste Management received 1,065 complaints, for an average of 19 complaints a day and 533 a month. At that rate, the company is on course for about 6,396 complaints this year, an increase of nearly 31 percent over 2005.

Posted by Info Center at 10:45 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Eric Dexheimer, AMERICAN-STATESMAN (TX), Monday, April 24, 2006

While a number of companies advertise themselves as waste haulers, a handful of big businesses control the bulk of the industry. In Central Texas, Waste Management, Allied Waste, Texas Disposal Systems and Industrial Environmental Services Inc. are the largest. The country's largest trash-hauling company is Waste Management Inc., of which the Texas branch is a subsidiary. The company operates 22 landfills in Texas, six of those in Central Texas. Last year the parent corporation reported revenue of more than $13 billion. Its profits have steadily increased since 2000.

...... The garbage companies also work hard to influence government officials. Texas Disposal Systems maintains a plush, safari-themed lodge on its grounds south of Austin, and the company lets nonprofit organizations use it for fundraising. But it's also a meet-and-greet spot for well-connected politicians. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn attended one recent political function. Scott McClellan, President Bush's former spokesman and a son of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state comptroller and a gubernatorial candidate, was married there.

Posted by Info Center at 11:30 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Elaine Allen-Emrich, Sun Herald (FL), April 23, 2006

Hello North Port. As city commissioners are about to investigate outsourcing the city's trash collection, there are some critical-thinking measures which should still be considered. …… Speaking of listening, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union contract with the city states that before the city negotiates with any outsource firm, it must first seek input from the union president whose members will be impacted by any outcomes. Some Solid Waste employees, who stand to lose their seniority in the city, are AFSCME union members.

Posted by Info Center at 3:15 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By EDDIE CURRAN, Press Register (AL), Thursday, April 20, 2006

On July 15, 1999, the state Department of Revenue sent a lawyer for Chemical Waste Management Inc. a letter saying the state had agreed to slash the tax rate charged at the massive hazardous waste landfill in Emelle. The very same day, according to federal court documents, then-Gov. Don Siegelman sent a letter to Clayton "Lanny" Young, who has admitted bribing state officials and being paid $500,000 by the waste firm to make the previously denied tax change a reality. Just what the Siegelman-to-Young letter says is not reflected in the record of the case against Siegelman and three other high-profile figures that's set to go to trial May 1.

Posted by Info Center at 9:52 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By WAYNE AYERS, Belleair Bee (FL), April 20, 2006

BELLEAIR BLUFFS – Waste Management, the city’s long-time waste hauling firm, will likely be around for another few years. ...... The performance of Waste Management, the city’s waste hauler for 21 years, came under fire during the hurricane season two years ago when the company’s bills for pickup following hurricanes Frances and Jeanne were higher than expected. Since that time residents have complained to the commission about various waste pickup issues. Other residents have spoken in favor of the company’s service, and the commission has been divided over the issue.

Posted by Info Center at 9:48 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: by Marcus Moore, Maryland Gazette, Thursday, April 20, 2006

Waste Management workers went back to work this week, ending a two-week strike over a labor contract. Employees, who claimed the privately held trash-hauler wanted to reduce wages and replace their pension plan with a 401(k) without company contributions, celebrated a small victory this week, holding onto their pension plan.

Posted by Info Center at 9:44 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Mark R. Dorolek, The Winchester Star, April 13, 2006

The Frederick County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to terminate the contract between the county and Browning-Ferris Industries for solid waste pickup at Wednesday’s meeting. BFI is accused of picking up commercial garbage and mixing it with county garbage, which is forbidden in the contract. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Aug. 26, 2005, and seized 324 items from BFI’s office on Lenoir Drive, which included computers, landfill tickets, customer files, and financial documents.

Posted by Info Center at 2:09 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Bryan Chambers, The Herald-Dispatch (WV), April 10, 2006

HUNTINGTON -- Two weeks after a failed attempt to revamp the city charter, Huntington City Council will tackle three more issues that will likely generate a mountain of debate. The agenda for the council's meeting at 7:30 p.m. today at City Hall includes: PRIVATIZATION: A resolution to privatize the sanitation and trash divisions, motor pool division (city garage), data processing, street maintenance, building maintenance and tree removal and trimming. ….. City Council attempted to privatize the city's sanitation department in 2002, but the measure was defeated 7-4. It also was heavily opposed by Felinton and the city's AFSCME union. Felinton could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Posted by Info Center at 2:00 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBEL, News Tribune (IN), March 31, 2006 07:20 pm

A city workers’ union has filed two grievances against New Albany, alleging misconduct in filling one job and in eliminating several others by attrition. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1861 addressed the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety at a special Thursday afternoon meeting. Branch President Mickey Thompson explained the two grievances, filed March 9 and March 14. The March 9 grievance states that instead of a part-time, nonunion West Haven Cemetery worker filling a new full-time position at the cemetery, the city should have first contacted the employees laid off when city sanitation services were privatized at the end of 2005, according to AFSCME’s contract with New Albany.

Posted by Info Center at 11:25 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: BY TRISH HOLLENBECK, Northwest Arkansas Times, Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Robert Baxter testified Tuesday in the first day of a trial in which he is suing Waste Management Inc. for wrongful termination and breach of contract. A mistrial in the case was declared Aug. 1 by Washington County Circuit Judge Michael Mashburn, reportedly due to health problems involving Lamar Pettus, Fayetteville attorney for Baxter, so it is being retried this week. Baxter, the former governmental relations coordinator, was fired from Waste Management, which owns the Tontitown landfill, in January 2002. He contends in the suit that he was fired because he threatened to go to state officials over a cavein and hole in the protective liner of the landfill. ..... When Pettus on Tuesday asked Baxter why he believes he was fired, Baxter said, "I think because I was going to turn them into the state."

Posted by Info Center at 9:29 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Coleman Warner, Times Picayune (LA), Friday, March 24, 2006

Furious with lagging garbage pickup that has drawn continuing public complaints, New Orleans City Council members on Thursday blasted Waste Management, and even passed a resolution saying the garbage contractor should be barred from future work for the city if it doesn't take decisive action within seven days. Mayor Ray Nagin's administration also expressed some concern about the company's performance, and said it is weighing punitive action. ..... Although it has no authority over city contracts, the council panel passed a resolution largely blaming the current cleanup problems on Waste Management's performance. The measure also says the company should "be eliminated from consideration for future city contracts" if it doesn't make vast improvements within a week.

Posted by Info Center at 12:11 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Jeremy Boren, Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, Thursday, March 9, 2006

City workers will continue to collect all of Pittsburgh's garbage. A trash collection bid from the city's Environmental Services Division beat proposals from private trash haulers Waste Management Services of North Huntingdon and Allied Waste Industries, formerly BFI, of McDonald, city officials said today. ..... The biggest factor in the city's successful bid was the proposal of a four-day work week for garbage collectors, who currently work five, Klimovich said. (UB)

Posted by Info Center at 10:59 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Palm Beach Post, Monday, January 30, 2006

Gas and even materials and labor may cost more, but Port St. Lucie City Council members were correct to reject a trash hauler's bid to raise rates by up to 83 percent. Last week, the council nixed Waste Management's bid to renew its contract for five years and asked other garbage haulers to submit bids for picking up trash, tree limbs and recyclables. Council members praised Waste Management's work. But they said that the firm's planned increase in monthly rates from $14.86 to $24.95 or $27.20, depending on how the fees are collected, is just too much for residents to pay. Mayor Bob Minsky was the only dissenter; he wanted to keep Waste Management, even though he once was its toughest critic. The firm's improved service under a strict city contract, he said, and has helped keep the city clean.

Posted by Info Center at 10:42 AM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Matt Scallan, Times-Picayne (LA), Tuesday, February 07, 2006

The St. Charles Parish Council on Monday told its garbage collector to pick up the trash or forget about picking up its final paycheck. However, Chief Administrative Officer Tim Vial said more research would have to be done to determine whether the parish could legally withhold the final payment to Waste Management Inc. .... "I've had some people complain that they haven't had trash picked up in six weeks," said Ganesier "Ram" Ramchandran, who cosponsored the payment resolution with Councilman Richard Duhe.

Posted by Info Center at 10:40 AM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: By Kathleen Baydala, Clarion Ledger (MS), January 31, 2006

South Jackson resident Brenda Carson, 61, said her husband, on more than one occasion, has chased garbagemen down the street, demanding they come back and pick up their trash. "We practically gift wrap our trash, and it still takes two or three weeks sometimes before they pick it up," Carson said. Thelman Boyd, director of the city's public works department, said the city also is dissatisfied with the quality of garbage removal service and is considering fining its trash and leaf collection contractor for not doing a good job. "We've had reports that garbage trucks missed whole streets," he said. The city's contract with Waste Management of Mississippi allows the city to assess fines for failure to collect solid waste within 24 hours of a complaint, failure to clean up trash spilled by garbage men and other service breaches. Fines range from $25 to $500 per incident.

Posted by Info Center at 2:43 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: by Marcus Moore, Maryland Gazette, Jan 20, 2006

Nearly 100 Waste Management employees claim that the $13 billion Texas company wants to reduce their wages and eliminate their pension plan. Union officials said this week that if Waste Management does not back off its stance and submit a new contract proposal, then the employees, working from the Temple Hills branch, could go on strike.

Posted by Info Center at 1:34 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

By Dana Yates, San Mateo Daily Journal (CA), Jan 20, 2006

San Carlos resident Jan Smith doesn’t think it should take a college degree to take out the garbage, but every Monday she and her neighbors worry they’ll do something wrong and Allied Waste employees won’t pick up their trash or recycling. Garbage workers regularly pass up her and her neighbor’s garbage cans and recycling bins. During the recent rains, she placed recyclable paper in a cardboard box before putting it in the wet recycle bin. The garbage workers took the paper and threw the recyclable cardboard box in front of her house. In other cases, residents from Burlingame through Palo Alto are reporting missed and late pick ups. .... The main issue was Allied Waste’s lack of customer service and nearly 700 missed pick ups last year that were not corrected within 24 hours of a customer complaint. The company received 9,558 missed pick-up complaints last year. Of those, approximately 670 were not cleared within 24 hours, according to a report conducted by SBWMA. Allied Waste isn’t supposed to have more than 180 missed pick ups per year. Anymore than that can result in fines, according to the garbage contract renewed last year.

Posted by Info Center at 1:32 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: James D. Wolf Jr, Chicago Tribune (IL), January 18, 2006

CALUMET CITY -- The city's privately contracted trash collection system began this week, but officials are hoping residents won't see any difference from the service long provided by the city. Waste Management will pick up garbage on the same schedule and locations as the previous municipal service. ...... Officials estimate Calumet City will save $6.1 million during the 5-year contract. Waste Management has said it would hire many of the city workers who lost their jobs in the move.

Posted by Info Center at 10:38 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: Heather Rogers, The Nation, December 19, 2005

....... King George looks like any typical modern-day garbage landfill, except it's not. Atop this grass-cloaked trash butte is a ten-acre parcel dedicated to research and development on the next generation of sanitary landfills, known in the industry as the "bioreactor." This facility pumps enormous volumes of toxic liquids into the guts of the landfill to speed the decomposition of organic materials, which will hasten the dump's settling and make more room for discards. The bioreactor's intensified decaying also forces a sharp spike in methane gas, a natural byproduct of biodegradation. This is a problem because methane is a serious global warming threat

...... The corporations that handle much of the country's garbage today make their money in direct proportion to the amount that gets thrown away: the more trash, the more cash. In fact, these companies earn the highest profits from castoffs that get landfilled; burying rubbish generates more before-tax income than all other waste company operations combined. And since organic items make up almost two-thirds of all landfilled waste, these firms would stand to lose vast profits if those discards were diverted to, say, a composting program. Bioreactor technology, by contrast, is designed to maintain maximum flows of discards into the ground.

According to David Kirkpatrick, managing director of a Durham, North Carolina, firm that invests in clean technologies: "Clearly, [for-profit landfill operators] will make more money the more tons that come in. Any front-end separation for composting reduces the volumes going into the landfill, and that reduces revenues."

Posted by Info Center at 3:14 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: JENNIFER A. WELLS, Marion Chronicle Tribune (IN), Dec 20, 205

Although they're days away from a layoff and their jobs have been eliminated, the city's trash workers are still a part of a contract with various city workers that was approved Monday by the city Board of Public Works and Safety. Contract negotiations began before discussions surrounding trash privatization started, which meant that the city's eight Sanitation Department workers were included in the package, along with street, traffic and fleet maintenance personnel. ….. The contract between the city and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3063 was approved by a 4-0 vote Monday, with board member Jim Swan absent...... According to Spitzer, the inclusion of the sanitation department in the contract will not prohibit Marion Services Inc. from beginning trash collection next month. The Board of Works voted to privatize services in September. "It is not in any way going to impede (the city's decision to privatize)," he said. "We are following the contract in terms of sending notifications to employees." ..... John Francis, president of Marion Services' parent company, Capital Waste Inc., promised the board and the city that he would hire all displaced workers.

Posted by Info Center at 3:31 PM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: William Wichert, Register News (NJ), 12/15/2005

BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee has awarded a new contract to the town's trash hauler, but this one allows fines to be levied on the company if service problems, like those that occurred last year, arise again. While the three-year contract with low-bidder Central Jersey Waste and Recycling Inc. of Trenton would not change trash collection routes and schedules, the new agreement revises the billing method and establishes fines for not abiding by the terms of the contract. The $282,000 contract was approved at Tuesday's Township Committee meeting.

Posted by Info Center at 11:06 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: MATT STILES, Houston Chronicle, Dec 9, 2005

City Controller Annise Parker said today that she has launched an audit into allegations that a contractor billed the city of Houston for collection and disposal of tons of garbage collected in neighboring municipalities. A second phase of the probe will look at the city's Solid Waste Management department to ensure that safeguards are in place to prevent fraud and to "identify ways to make the department more effective and efficient," Parker said. ..... Officials at the company under audit, Florida-based Republic Services, Inc., could not be reached for comment this morning. Parker, who said the company has agreed to pay $150,000 to fund the audit, also plans to look at whether the company ought to pay restitution.

Posted by Info Center at 3:35 PM in Horror Stories | Waste Management | Permalink

Source: AMANY ALI, News Tribune (KY), November 30, 2005 03:11 pm

The city of New Albany is one step closer to knowing who will handle its garbage and recycling services. The bids were made by Industrial Disposal, Clark-Floyd Landfill Eco-Tech LLC, Rumpke and City of New Albany Sanitation Workers/AFSCME Local 1861. ….. In their bid, the union proposes to raise user fees by $3, building and operating a transfer station and selling recycled goods to a vendor. Customers currently pay $13.75 per household, per month for garbage pickup. Thompson said the union’s plan is to also eliminate what sanitation workers say are problematic garbage-collecting vehicles that were purchased by former mayor Regina Overton and buying five rear-loader trucks that have been used in the past. Sanitation workers say the Overton-era trucks don’t fit in all city alleys and have caused the collapse of garages in the city. The union also proposes using riverboat-gambling money to pay the remaining balance on garbage containers that were purchased under Overton.

(UB)

Posted by Info Center at 11:06 AM in Waste Management | Permalink

Source: The Courier-Journal (KY), Wednesday, November 30, 2005

An effort to find a new garbage hauler in New Albany has drawn four bidders, including the union that represents the city's existing sanitation workers. A decision on who will serve the city's 11,000 trash customers isn't expected for two weeks. The bids submitted yesterday to the city's Board of Public Works show a wide range of proposed fees, from $11.56 a month to $17.63 a month per household. The current rate is $13.75. ….. The union's proposal would cost $16.75 a month per household. It would include the creation of a solid-waste transfer station at 37 W. Fifth St. Roger Poer, an accountant with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the union workers also are more flexible than many private companies and are prepared to pick up random items such as tires when needed.

(UB)

Posted by Info Center at 1:54 PM in Waste Management | Permalink