City Council Talks Trash

 

Shane Kelton, Operations Director for the City of San Angelo, presented the Council with options for the future of the City’s waste management program following the expiration of the current contract with Republic Services on July 4, 2014 at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

In addressing options, Kelton and the Council took it one-by-one and expressed their interest and concerns for what the future contract should include.

The first item up for discussion was whether to implement the automated ‘cart’ system or to maintain manual pick up. The Council was unanimous in their agreement that a future contract should implement the cart system, which eliminates the need for trash men in the City.

San Angelo citizens have expressed dissent on the issue in the past, arguing that the program is not only more costly, but also disallows citizens to utilize their on cans for trash purposes.

Mayor Dwain Morrison, councilman Johnny Silvas and councilman Rodney Fleming all agreed on the same points. “[The cart system is] the future and that’s pretty much where it’s going nationwide,” Fleming said.

Councilman Winkie Wardlaw mentioned the cart’s current success in trial areas throughout the city. “We have a pilot program over there in Santa Rita and I’ve not heard anyone that’s not happy with it,” Wardlaw said.

With Council support behind the implementation of the cart system, the frequency of pick up became the topic of discussion, which is also reliant upon a decision on the city’s future plan for recycling.

Kelton asked the Council: “Is a recycling program something you’d like to see implemented?”

The question was immediately answered with a solid ‘yes’ from Fleming. Councilman Marty Self followed in chorus, “My wife said don’t come home without recycling. I know who runs my household, so I think I have to vote for recycling,” he said to laughs.

But with support on the Council and in the community, concerns of cost may prove prohibitive.  “I know a lot of people are for recycling,” said councilman Don Vardeman, “but I’m not sure how excited the citizens are going to be about the cost.”

In order to address the cost issue, pick up frequency was discussed as a possible resolution. Currently, residential waste is picked up twice a week by Republic Services. Councilmembers suggested that with the implementation of a recycling system, reducing that pick up to once weekly may be a viable option that would help balance costs.

Silvas noted that the carts currently used by Republic Services hold 90 gallons, much larger than typical Rubbermaid bins used privately throughout the city, and suggested that a single pick up would suffice in conjunction with the recycling program.

City Manager Daniel Valenzuela supported Silvas’ statement recalling living in Eagle Pass in a family of five on an automated cart system. “We always managed to do fine with a once-a-week pick up,” he said.

Still, the concern was that both limiting the pick up and implementing recycling might not be the most effective manner of approaching a new contract for the citizens.

Following arguments by Vardeman and Wardlaw for maintaining a twice-weekly pick up with the option to alter that at a later date, the Council moved forward.

With cost a deciding factor in drafting a new contract, Kelton asked the Council if future contracts will include exclusivity clauses for recycling.

Following the statements of two local recycling company owners speaking on behalf of their viability and a presentation by David Gregory of Texas Disposal Systems, the Council voted unanimously for a Request for Proposal, thus allowing all interested entities to throw their hats into the ring for the waste management contract bid.

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Comments

Can a cart system physically work with our narrow alleyways? Carts I've seen always have to be backed up to.
They didn't report any problems with the alleys during the pilot program. They did include some areas with the older alleys.

The carts aren't picked up in the alleyways. Instead, residents roll them out to the end of their drive on pick up days and the truck pulls up with it's hydraulic arm, lifts them, empties and sets them back down. You wheel them back to where they belong later. 

Here's an article I wrote about a month ago that explains the system and the pilot program in a bit more detail. 

bebop, Tue, 11/12/2013 - 14:24
Chelsea, are you aware that many people don't have a garage on the front of their home? And that it's literally IMPOSSIBLE to get a trash receptacle from the back of my house to the front, no matter how cute the wheels are? Might want to give a nod to those of us who can't "wheel them back to where they belong later"
I like the cart thing, but what about the employees that will lose their jobs. Who will take care of them til they can find more work?
live, Thu, 11/07/2013 - 14:10

According to the folks at Republic, finding people willing to work for $11/hr on the back of the garbage trucks is extremely difficult. Some, he says, he gets from temp labor places. They work the first day and don't show up the next. My opinion? Democrats will argue that this is why we need comprehensive immigration reform, if you know what they mean.  Republicans will argue that we're paying people too much money to sit at home and watch Oprah, and they don't want to work hard.

bebop, Thu, 11/14/2013 - 14:07
This is when people WANT undocumented workers -- to do the jobs no one else wants to do. Just like the Republican ranchers hollering about immigration and Mexicans taking benefits we all pay for -- yet, these are the same RANCHERS who have a staff of cheap undocumented Mexican laborer/slaves at any given time. Hypocritical. Everyone wants the cheap labor, but no one wants to give green cards to those willing to come seek a better life (yes, even dumping trash cans) and do the crummy low-wage work no entitled American is willing to do. Mowing yards, pruning trees, dumping garbage...I know many who are absolutely willing to have people swim the river and come here and do that for cheap, but will throw a fit if the gov't doesn't fence the entire Mexican border. Strange dissonance, there.
$11/hr !?! I'm sure that republic told you that they are offering $11 per hour to the men on the back of the truck but ask any of them and they will be lucky to be getting $10 per hour. The drivers of these truck only make $13 per hour. Why would any of these guy stick around when they can go to the oil field and make $5-$10 more per hour? Republic seriously underpays all of their employees and are loosing employees left and right because of their refusal to pay them any more than what they make. Republic claims they can not afford to pay their employees any more but somehow they are going to be able to purchase new trucks to do this pilot program? What will they do if they lose the bid to pick up trash to TDS? Republic will have burned a lot of bridges and lost a lot of money for nothing.
lc76901, Wed, 11/13/2013 - 19:53
And so how would you know all this information, that you are passing out to the general public of San Angelo???? There are many other companies out there that pay considerably lower wages to employees. So, do tell everyone how much TDS pays their workers and drivers seeing that you have all the information for everyone in this town? As for the pilot program, this has been in effect for a while, and I happen to live in one of the areas of this program. And services has been awesome! As for loosing employees...this is all to the facts of the Oil Fields, and many other companies, public services, in San Angelo have also lost employees for example teachers, coaches, retail, and the list goes on. As for service from TDS....yeah so they mail out this flyer to everyone who lives in San Angelo. I called to inquire about service for my residence and was told that they would be offering service within the city, but have not heard back from their sales department???? I question how they could have even offered this to me within city limits, as they have no contract for trash service as of yet??
I'm not rolling anything to the end of my driveway. It's hard enough to get everything out into the alley. It also looks terrible. I'll put it in the alley and pay for it to be picked up. That's why we have the alley afterall.
bebop, Tue, 11/12/2013 - 14:22
Not all of us have front-garages, so we can't leave our trash cans in the garage and roll them to the curb like most people. We have a steep driveway on the ALLEY where our garage faces, and as a disabled, small person, there is no way in hell I could OR would ever roll a monstrous filthy trash can around the sharp angle of our garage/house door, through the length of our patio home to dump it at the curb twice a week. And don't even think about suggesting it be kept in my entry hall by the front door. Think AGAIN. We have a nice trash enclosure, and that's where trash belongs. Think up something else to annoy and inconvenience us, city reps.
I was looking up and down the alley today as I put trash out for our Friday pick-up. What I saw was that everyone had more trash than barrels. So if you give me a bin to be picked up by truck, be aware that you're going to have to get out of that truck and remove the extra bags, boxes, and large items.
bebop, Thu, 11/14/2013 - 13:54
This is cutting out jobs for people who are actually WILLING to work hard and keep the city clean. Trash pickup is more than just dumping a container. There litereally IS NO WAY, NO PLACE to put one of those huge containers in our front street in a neighborhood of zero lot line homes. Honestly, I think the council people and city staff really are clueless as to how some of us live. THIS CANNOT WORK here. We can barely park ONE car in front of our house. We live near Southland Boulevard, homes with garages/driveways on the alley. Near Bonham school, there is no way ON EARTH to put huge bins out on a two-lane street crowded with people dropping off and picking up children. This is asking for wrecks and hassle and trouble and knocked over bins. Do other places with this automated pickup have West Texas winds like we have? I guarantee you, the first time somebody's bin rolls into our yard or our car, the city better be prepared to open their checkbook, there WILL be a lawsuit.
bebop, Thu, 11/14/2013 - 13:59
This is a stupid issue. Spend money one what's really ailing us - potholes, crooked light poles, disintegraing water pipes leaking out precious water, missing city signs, useless middle manager jobs in city staff, useless fancy furniture in city offices. STOP TRYING TO MAKE US INTO a city we are not! CLean up the one we have, properly. Enough of the private-interest people on the council and staff. We are a laughingstock. Neighbors are losing their possessions and peace of mind because of the poorly-managed city service systems, water, gas, etc. FIX THOSE FIRST.
bebop, Thu, 11/14/2013 - 14:02
as one who lives in a neighborhood of elderly people who can barely walk across their house, much less trundle a bin as big as they are out to a curb...how do you expect an elderly and/or disabled person to deal with this, City? Folly. This is pure folly.
FSM, Thu, 11/14/2013 - 14:19
We had alley pickup when we lived in Garland and no one ever had any issues.

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