Roll With the Changes

So, the latest (and in my opinion, very unfortunate) news is that a judge just ordered the new waste management plan for Gwinnett County to a screeching halt, and it will be business as usual (at least for now) for the current garbage companies serving our area.

Summarized info. from the AJC is:

• Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Michael Clark issued a preliminary injunction late Thursday, saying until a full hearing can determine if the contracts signed by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful with two new haulers are legal, existing collection services will stay in place.
• At issue was either Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful as a private non-profit organization had the legal right to sign the deals with two new haulers. Also being put on hold is Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful administering the county's new solid waste disposal program until a full hearing can be held. The nonprofit corporation had been tapped by the county to administer a new waste program that expanded and mandated recycling and that consolidated service by contracting with two haulers.
• The court action means at least for now, those companies now serving Gwinnett County customers may be able to stay in place.
• Clark granted the injunction sought by Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, two haulers who said the new program would run them out of business.
• Jane Langley, spokeswoman for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, said the organization was still studying the ruling and considering legal alternatives (and in the meantime their web site is "closed until further notice").
• Deputy County Administrator Mike Comer said officials are working to put something together quickly so residents will know what’s happening with their garbage collection.

And now for my unauthorized, unabashed opinion:

I'm all for free enterprise. No, I was not happy either that I was being told who my garbage company was, how much I had to pay, and that it was going to be assessed on my property taxes. But, I was thrilled about the expanded recycling services and the fact that one truck would come through my neighborhood, one day, once a week. I was rolling with the changes.

I've been following the development of the new garbage plan for the last several years. The plan is not something that was created overnight in haste. The individuals involved in the development of how waste and recycling will be handled in unincorporated Gwinnett County have been living and breathing trash for years now--they've hired independent research companies, held numerous public forums, conducted many surveys, etc.

And, in the meantime (about six months ago), one of the small garbage companies mentioned above dropped service in our area overnight like a hot potato. No notice. No letter. No call. Just a week of no pick-up and then a call by our neighborhood president asking what was going on. Lame explanation. No apologies. Then we had to ask for a refund for the quarter, hopeful that we would even receive it, followed with a scramble to find a new company.

In the last month, we've all received letters detailing the new service. Some have received declining service (including unexplained, hefty cancellation charges) from our current companies. We've received a bill for next year's service from our new hauler. I dropped off a van full of cardboard, paper, and paper at Pinckneyville Middle School's recycling bin for what I thought was the last time, knowing curbside recycling for these items was coming very soon. And today, our new trash can was delivered. Things were moving forward. Change was happening.

So, now, in the 11th hour, this happens? I'm calling sour grapes from the two haulers who are behind this injunction and who are impacted by the new plan. Naturally they are bitter. However, if they can provide the expanded service, then they should have stepped up to the plate! I'll admit I don't know all the behind the scenes politics (or if there even is any), but from what I understand, the application process for the selected companies was open to all, and those who were able to provide the best service at the lowest rates rose to the top.

What about the people who've already paid their old hauler AND the new hauler? What about people (like Judy) who have already cancelled their old service in anticipation of the new service (side note: her family only produces about one bag of garbage a week, so going a month without pick-up is not an issue)? What about the people who never had any service to begin with and will continue to illegally dump and litter?

Honestly, I don't care who picks up my trash as long as they do a good job. All I know is the current companies are not serving us well. If things remain business as usual, as customers, we should DEMAND the expanded recycling service that we know is possible.

If our current waste management program remains, I'll suck it up and continue to recycle everything possible anyway. I'll suck up the fact that multiple trucks will continue to drive through my neighborhood on a daily basis, polluting our area and adding congestion to our roads. I'll suck up the fact that my family only produces one (yes, seriously, only one) bag of trash a week, yet we pay the same price for pick-up as my neighbor who has an overflowing bin every week. And I have to save, load up and drive my recycling to a center since curb-side pick-up of many perfectly recycleable items is not offered (under the new system, it would have been, so I wouldn't have minded the extra cost of trash-pick up. And even though I'm not a fan of the fine that came along with the mandatory recycling rule--I mean come on, how hard is it to separate trash from recycled items? And do you REALLY think anyone from Gwinnett County was going to come around and look through your trash to fine you? Seriously? They can't even enforce watering restriction fines!).

I'll continue to hope that the new waste management plan will eventually emerge as the most logical and sustainable choice for garbage and recycling pick-up in our area, and that the implementation will move forward. And, that we'll all roll with the changes.

There, I feel better and I'm off my soap box. At least for now...

~Robin~

Sustainable Peachtree Corners: Positively promoting green, sustainable living for those who live, work and play in the Peachtree Corners community.

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