CRESTVIEW — Trash collection fees will increase for some city commercial customers, but only those who overstuff their garbage containers.
WastePro, which holds the city trash collection contract, reports it is over its annual disposal budget by $11,000 and there are still four months to go in the year.
The reason? Some commercial customers contract for a too-small container and they try to overstuff it, paying the same for extra trash disposal as customers who follow the rules.
“The first seven years (of WastePro’s city contract) we really haven’t had a problem with overages,” WastePro Division Manager Greg Martin said. “But our cost is not fair anymore.”
Martin said his company has seen a marked increase in overflowing trash containers this year than previously.
As a result, WastePro often has to make multiple pick-ups beyond the scheduled stops for those customers.
“It becomes unfair,” Public Works Director Wayne Steele said. “We are hauling off a lot more than they are paying for.”
EXTRA PICK-UP, EXTRA COST
Steele, whose department is the city’s WastePro liaison, said charging extra for the extra pick-ups is precluded by city ordinance.
“The ordinance should be changed to require the customer to go to a larger dumpster, but then you get calls from the business owner saying, 'Oh I don't want to do it,’” Steele said. “It's not everyone but you have some that are habitual.”
Steele said by law, the container’s lid has to be firmly closed to prevent animals from getting into the trash and causing a health risk.
City councilmen were sympathetic to WastePro’s request and following a motion by Councilman JB Whitten, voted unanimously to increase the extra pick-up fee from $10 to $25 per yard.
City staffers will draft the new ordinance, which will be presented to the council in a future public meeting for action.
“This request will not affect the normal costs, just costs regarding extra pickups,” City Clerk Betsy Roy wrote in a council brief pertaining to the request.
Roy and Steele said commercial customers can avoid the extra cost by either not filling their containers to overflowing, or ordering a larger container to accommodate their needs.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview commercial trash fees may rise for some