Cold weather put the brakes on some trash service in Newcastle earlier this year. At the time, social media was abuzz with discussions about problems being experienced with the city’s service provider, Republic Services.
City Council members, during their March 10 meeting, addressed the problems and then sat down with Republic Services officials for a discussion and to ask about any contingency plan so the problem won’t happen again.
City Manager Kevin Self said there had been a lot of discussion regarding trash service, specifically trash pickup during the week that Newcastle had the snow and ice, and there were some unhappy residents.
Self said it was primarily ice on the ground that caused issues for Republic Services. Self said the problems were not isolated to Newcastle, but had occurred at other cities where Republic Services serves as provider.
Self said the City received information from Republic by email saying the trash company was coming out Thursday through Saturday of that week because they missed Tuesday and Wednesday pickup.
“They did not come out and pick up trash,” Self said.
Republic told Self they were having issues with drivers and with their vehicles’ hydraulic brakes.
Self also reported that bulk trash had not been picked up until three weeks later.
“We did have some residents who were voicing their desires to have a refund or credit to their accounts,” Self said, “Republic Waste did not credit accounts for that situation. They told us they are charged the same amount from the dump since they are picking up twice and taking to the dump.”
He also said the City is not crediting accounts because they have to pay Republic Waste for the service.
Mayor Karl Nail said he does not agree with Republic Services not crediting accounts when they don’t get trash picked up at residences.
“We’ve had issues with trash service for quite some time, off and on, at least for some residents every single week there is some sort of complaint that comes in that a resident doesn’t get their trash picked up,” Nail said. “We have some that are having dismissed service every week. Our residents are paying for a weekly trash pickup.”
Self mentioned that the City might solicit proposals for other services in order to do a comparison in cost and service.
Council member Marci White said, “What’s your plan in case of inclement weather?” She indicated that any provider would need a contingency plan, and said other types of services have these in place.
Self said in the next meeting he was to have with Republic Services, he would ask about their contingency plan so the problems won’t happen again.
Mayor Nail said, “Something needs to change. This is not just an isolated occurrence in picking up trash just because of a weather event. Whatever it takes to get that change … we can move forward, whether it be with a different provider. That may be more expensive. You may have to pay more, but at least you are getting the service.”
Council member Kimberly Sutton said she was concerned about any additional fees the City might incur if the contract were cancelled.
Self said he was unsure about any fees, but he noted that if the City were to cancel, the time line would be about the first of July. He also said a cancellation of services is not what the City is after. Instead, they just want some resolution of problems.
TRASH PICKUP on page 2 Self said, “We just want trash picked up timely and consistently.”
TRASH PICKUP: Republic comes up with plan
City Has Meeting With Republic Services Self said he and City staff met with Republic Services personnel on Tuesday after the March council meeting.
The meeting went well, according to Self. He said they were able to discuss all about trash service including the missed pickups, the winter storm, and the lack of communication with the City of Newcastle, as well as how they were going to handle route collections after the winter storm.
“We were told they were going to run Thursday, Friday and Saturday in order to get caught up,” Self said. “They did run routes on Saturday but did not run the entire city. We had customers who had to wait until the next week before their trash was picked up.”
Self said they did ask Republic to come up with an action plan as to how they would handle missed routes after a storm and during a storm in the future. That action plan was created and will be presented to the City Council at the April Council meeting.
Self said he and Republic went back and forth on the action plan for about a week and it was finalized.
“I think it was a very good meeting. It was good that they provided us an action plan so quickly. They took it seriously, and I think the City of Newcastle is an important account to Republic,” Self said. “I think going forward that hopefully the problems they have will be corrected with what they have presented to us. I think their action plan will work, and we will have something to go by.”
The City has two more years left on their agreed upon annual contracts. As the contract in the May to July 2027 budget year approaches, the City Council may look at other services and possibly have other services bid to be the City’s provider, Self said. He added that the Council has the option of canceling their contract with a 90-day notice.
Self said, “Our residents expect to receive the service they have paid for, and the residents are who I work for.”
