New garbage firm comes in to pick up the pieces

Port Washington’s new garbage and recycling hauler came to town late last week to pick up after a company that left the city’s streets lined with trash.

Waste Management’s contract ended at midnight Friday, Sept. 17, and the company left full garbage and recycling carts at the curb at many houses.

For much of the last year, the city has been fielding numerous complaints from residents whose garbage and recycling haven’t been collected.

The situation got so bad that the city decided last month to terminate its contract with Waste Management and hire a new hauler.

“Through their last week, they continued to perform at the level they previously had been,” City Administrator Tony Brown said Tuesday.

  Harter’s Fox Valley Disposal, which took over the contract, came in with trucks on Friday, picking up bagged garbage at sites throughout the city, Brown said.

On Saturday, the company continued to collect garbage and recycling, bringing in new trucks to handle the work, he said.

“They literally got the vehicles on Saturday and started collecting right away,” Brown said. “We’re feeling encouraged about the way this relationship is going.”

This week the company is trying to not only handle regular garbage pickup but to collect the items left behind when Waste Management’s contract ended, he said.
“They’re basically playing catch up this week,” Brown said, adding by the end of this week or early next week he expects the firm will have achieved that goal.

Some residents have had recycling carts sitting at their curb for a week, he acknowledged, and he asked that anyone whose carts haven’t been emptied leave them on the street until they are collected.

Harter’s employees, he said, are learning the routes this week. While they may miss a few stops along the way, they have been quick to go back and pick up the refuse when notified.

“We hope people will be patient,” Brown said. “There’s going to be a little bit of a transition.”

The flood of calls from people upset because Waste Management hadn’t collected their garbage and recycling has abated, Brown said, adding the city has received a few calls from people who want to clarify such things as the fact that Friday’s collection will move to Thursday on Nov. 1 and that Harter’s will swap the old recycling and garbage carts for new ones beginning Oct. 6.

The fact that Waste Management hasn’t fulfilled its obligations in recent months isn’t necessarily going unnoticed.

“The city is reviewing existing bills from Waste Management and considering their performance and whether or not the payments are justified,” Brown said.

Residents whose garbage and recycling isn’t picked up are asked to call Harter’s at (920) 207-4258 or the Port Department of Public Works at 284-2600.