Gwinnett County Trash Pick Up
In 2004 Gwinnett County charged Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, along with it’s Citizens Solid Waste Advisory Board, to develope a solid waste management plan as required by Georgia law. The purpose of the law is to establish a long term plan of action to provide for improved garbage disposal and increased recycling in the state.
Gwinnett County Residential Trash Pick Up Plan Announced
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful has announced the details regarding the new residential trash pick up plan for Gwinnett County. The county has been divided into six areas with Advanced Disposal Services Atlanta, LLC handling the three northern areas and Waste Pro of Georgia, Inc. handling the three southern areas. This plan goes into effect on January 2, 2009 and encompasses all residents of unincorporated Gwinnett County. Each residence will receive 2 of the 95 gallon wheeled carts, one for trash and the other for recyclables.
How Much Will It Cost
Initially, and through June 30, 2009, the service providers will bill the residents at a rate of $20.45 per month. Then beginning in July residents will stop receiving bills from the providers and a once a year payment, of $214.32 or $17.86 per month, will be paid when the property taxes are paid. This fixed rate will remain in force at least until December 31, 2010. After that time any fee increases must be justified by the provider and brought in front of the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Board and would have to receive support from the board. Yard waste pick up is optional and will be billed at a rate of $10.00 per month.
One Benefit
One of the benefits that I forsee from this program is the reduced number of garbage collection trucks and trash out by the curb on various days of the week. Currently in many subdivisions there are multiple providers for trash removal which creates collections on different days along with trash being put out on different days. By going to this plan there will only be one day of the week that trash will be visible at the street.
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful has set up a web page for Frequently Asked Questions regarding this plan.
Comments
224 Responses to “ Gwinnett County Trash Pick Up ”
I live in Wedgewood Chase - a 50 unit town house association.We have Robertson for the community which we like - and our pickup charge is through association dues. How will this be handled in 2009?
Bruce Ferguson
Hi Bruce and thanks for visiting. I called Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful on your behalf and they informed me that if your association has a dumpster type arrangement with Robertson Sanitation then you will remain with them. However if you have individual containers for each unit you will be required to change over to the new plan. I hope this clarifies it for you.
Mack
I just heard about the change in garbage collection today for the first time. I have also learned that I will be charged an extra”demobilizing fee” with our existing service due to the short notice our waste company was given about this service changing to a government regulated area. Will there be any compensation for the waste companies who’ve been “ousted” to assist their employees who will shortly be unemployed? (I am not an employee or affiliated in any way besides being a customer)
Hi Lisa and thanks for your comment. I have not heard of the demobilizing fee. What company is charging it and how much is it? I doubt there will be any compensation to the providers who are not included. As far as the employees who will shortly be unemployed, I would think the two selected Gwinnett County providers will be hiring.
Why am I being charged a $1.00 deactivation fee by Waste Industries - Gwinnett County terminated service - not me.
I just received a bill from my service provider Atlanta Waste, for a deactivation fee in the amount of $23.50. I should not have to pay this as it was not my decision to cancel service.
John, I agree. Late this afternoon I heard about this deactivation fee. It was stated that this was to pay for the insurance cobra for the displaced employees. I’m afraid I am going to have to cry BS on this. I understand that Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is outraged with this action. I guess when you see actions like this it may well shed some insight as to why they were not chosen to be one of the providers. I would advise both you and Louise to contact Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and voice your concerns.
For anyone that wants to comment here and list the name of your provider who is attempting to charge these fees along with how much the fees is feel free to. We will let everyone know how insensitive they are. I will be happy to forward any and all of these horror stories to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. Perhaps with enough public pressure they will reconsider their ways.
I’m paid through December 2008 with Waste Industries and now I’m getting a deactivation Fee of $23.50. I shouldn’t have to pay a deactivation fee with the NEW Trash pick up starting in Jan. 2008.
Perhaps someone from Waste Industries or any other provider who has made the decision to attempt to rob Gwinnett County residents by charging this fee would like to step up to their keyboard and respond here.
I also received a $23.00 deactivation fee from Waste Management. Is Gwinnett County going to do anything about this or do we have to pay this charge?
Jane Brown
I have emailed both Jane Lang and Karen Miller with Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and have invited them to view your comments here. I would hope that they will come by and participate in the discussion and hopefully answer a few questions or perhaps relay the questions to the proper authorities for comments.
I emailed earlier referencing a “demobilization fee.” This word was interchanged synonymously with “deactivation fee” by Waste Industries. The only notification I’ve received has been via email, so I do wonder if it is credible, but several other posts on this website seem to confirm that it’s not a hoax. I will check back for any updates or recommendations you may have. Thank you, Mack for you quick response.
I’m also being charged $23.50.
I obtained a copy of the email sent by Waste Industries to their customers. In attempting to be totally fair I will publish the email here and also invite Waste Industries Spokespersons to comment as well. I will make comments and observations following the email. The email is as follows:
Dear Valued Customer,
Waste Industries has enjoyed providing service in Gwinnett County for the past thirteen years and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your loyal patronage. Regretfully, Gwinnett County has elected to take away your right to choose a waste hauler, and we will not be allowed to service you after December 31. Please be assured, however, that we fully intend to continue to provide outstanding service through the end of the year.
While we understand that this transition may cause you some inconvenience, please understand that this situation is solely a result of Gwinnett County’s
action. We also ask that you consider the impact this will have on our local employees and their families. As a result of the County’s decision we are forced to close our Atlanta East branch. We are making every attempt to find jobs for these hard working men and women but, unfortunately, many of them will be without a job at the end of the year.
Your last invoice from Waste Industries will include an account deactivation fee. Please allow me to explain this charge. The modest $23.50 charge is a demobilization fee and not a rate increase. We regret being unable to issue advance notice of this fee, but Waste Industries was not informed that it had not been given the right to continue to provide service in the county until November 5. The short notice that we are now required to be out of the county by January 1 has placed substantial hardships on us. The fee addresses an array of additional costs and difficulties including, but not limited to:
• Demobilizing an entire branch.
• Extending employee COBRA health benefits beyond employment.
• Protecting a workforce that knows it will no longer be needed.
• Recovering assets.
• Setting up call centers to deal with inevitable transition issues.
• Collection of accounts receivable in a short period of time.
As you can see from the examples above, the costs incurred by Waste Industries to demobilize will far exceed the amount it will receive through the deactivation fee.
We appreciate your understanding in this matter and hope to have the opportunity to serve you in the future.
Sincerely,
Jim Perry, CEO
Waste Industries
Mr.Perry, CEO Waste Industries, (No Relation) guess what, you are being provided more time than most companies get when being terminated. If the people you sent this email to were your valued customers you would not be charging this absurd fee. If you had been awarded the contract or even a portion of it, would you pay your valued customers an account appreciation fee? I’m going to guess not! As far as your bullet points for reasons to collect the fee, just call it a cost of doing business. Maybe you could take the fees out of your sponsorship budget for NASCAR. Finally if you want the opportunity to serve these customers again as you state, don’t try to rape them with this unwarranted “modest fee” as you call it.
My current collector has billed me 23.50 as a deactivation fee? Is this legal since I did not deactivate my service- the county did. (Waste Industries)
Also, How will I know what my pickup day will be under the new plan?
Dona, when you contact your new provider they will inform you of your collection day. As far as the legality of this deactivation fee, I don’t know if it is legal or not. That is the primary reason that I has email the two people listed in the contact section of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and asked that they come here and participate. I will say this about the deactivation fee, what may or may not be legal has nothing to do with whether or not it is the right thing to do. BTW Waste Industries has been invited to comment here also.
I received my bill from Waste Industries on Monday with a $23.50 deactivation fee.I will not pay this fee and urge others to do the same.Call these companies and tell them that you refuse to pay this fee or cancel your service for December.Gwinnett County came up with this new plan,if anyone pays a deactivation let it be them. Legal action? I urge you not to go along with this.
I have also been charged the $23.50. I am interested in hearing what Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful has to say about it.
Connie Wiggins
Executive Director
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Inc.
750 South Perry St., SW
Suite 310
Lawrenceville, Georgia 30045
September 23, 2008
Dear Ms. Wiggins:
I would like to personally thank you and your staff for an outstanding event last week with the Governor’s Luncheon.
A lot of hard work went into pulling off such a large event and you and the staff should be recognized for this endeavor.
I am concerned over an issue with the upcoming solid waste planning changes. I am a firm advocate of the direction and
intent of this plan but I am not an advocate of companies suddenly increasing their fees in anticipation of the January 1, 2009 change over of trash service providers.
I have attached a letter which I received from Allied Waste which indicates I will be charged additional fees to close out
my account as a result of the solid waste plan. I believe this increase is exorbitant and am being assessed an increase of
over 30 percent! I understand that there is a price to do business but I also understand that the price is usually already built in. To me the increase is a smack in the face to your organization.
If Allied Waste is going to operate in this fashion then my hope is that Gwinnett County will not consider this company when making the final decisions on who services what zone.
Very Truly Yours,
Tom O’Rourke
Executive Vice President
Northeast Atlanta Metro Association of Realtors
I have received a bill from my current waste disposal company for $23.50 as “deactivation fee” since they are no longer approved collectors from 1/1/2009. Why should we have to pay this extra amount? Is there any recourse for this? Anyone we can complain to about this totally unagreed to charge?
I received an email this afternoon from Karen Miller at Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, She is going to try to get an official announcement from Connie Wiggins, Executive Director at Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful regarding the “Deactivation Fee”.
Here is a link that states the companies that will serve Gwinnett county starting Jan 2009. I got charged the deactivation fee and to tell you the truth, I paid it not realizing what it all was about. Lesson for me: read your mail. Anyhoo- more info that SHOULD have been provided to Gwinnett County residents about the change instead of hearing of it from our trash companies. But then hindsight is always 20/20.
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org/Manual/InfoPage.asp?ModID=32
Hi Regina and welcome to the conversation. I don’t know if the deactivation fee is legal or if the devious providers that are charging it hope that many of the Gwinnett residents they send it to will do as you did and just pay it.
Deactivation Fee - Legal, Don’t Know; Ethical, No Way In Hell!
I recevied a bill as well as everyone has.Im waiting on a answer as to if we have to pay it?
I have just received a response from Gwinnett County. Karen Miller forwarded a copy of a letter written yesterday to Waste Industries, LLC from the Finance Department of Gwinnett County. Waste Industries was informed that they are in violation of the Gwinnett County Solid Waste Ordinance by charging an unauthorized deactivation fee. Waste Industries did not include any mention of a deactivation or demobilization fee in their required quarterly schedule of fees and charges filing made on September 1st. Also providers are required to provide their customers with a minimum of 30 days notice prior to any rate increase. Waste Industries was also informed in the letter that they were to provide weekly curb side pick up for their customers through December 31, 2008 and failure to do so would result in still an additional violation. Should Waste Industries fail to live up to their agreement with Gwinnett County, the county is prepared to call Waste Industries Performance Bond.
No matter how big or small a fan you are of government I think it is safe to say that Gwinnett County is standing up for the residents who are having to change trash pick up providers.
The MODEST $23.50 billed by Waste Industries is crazy. Do you realize that if they have at least 1000 customers (and I am sure they have more than that) pay #23.50 that is $23,500 they rake in for what???? I bet there employees will not see a dime of that money. What happens if we don’t pay it? I am not inclined to pay that MODEST fee–what does C&B have to say about this crazy charge.
Diane, according to the information above Waste Industries is in violation of of their agreement with Gwinnett County by billing you for this amount. Based on that correspondence I don’t think you have to pay it.
Hi everyone,
Good exchanges here. Glad to see folks are not taking this “garbage” lying down.
I had conversations with GCB, Comm Kenerly’s office, and Waste Industries yesterday. Also sent a rather terse email to Kenerly, Wiggins, & Bannister. I did get a somewhat helpful response from Ms. Wiggins, but the efficacy is still TBD.
Waste Industries has done a good job hiding their executives’ email & phone information. So, here is what I sent them earlier today via their online “contact us” web tab. Maybe others will find it useful in communicating similar positions to these people.
Regards to all here (NOT including Waste Industries execs)
Dear Waste Industries,
Your attempt to assess a $23.50 fee to my final bill is unacceptable, and per Gwinnett Co. officials on 18-Nov-08, may not be legal, to the extent that they have mentioned revoking your $150K performance bond.
Page 2 of the bill indicates that you “reserve the right” to charge “service related fees …”. Per Mike Ingle as interviewed by AJC, and Jim Perry, this fee is to cover benefits to employees and other items not related to my service. Be advised that I have not terminated my service. You are welcome to pick up my trash in January. If you are unable to continue my service due to issues between the county and WI, then WI, not I, will be in breach of any agreement.
I am sorry for your situation, that you were unable to competitively bid for the contract, and I am truly sympathetic toward your employees. Gwinnett county has given us all a raw deal. However, it is not my responsibility to cover your costs of doing business. There are many people losing their jobs these days, yet I am not being charged fees by those companies.
I therefore will pay my December bill as I always have, minus the $23.50.
I assure you if you try to impact my credit, place a lien against my property, or have a collection agent contact me, I will pursue legal action against you. I have been in contact with Gwinnett Co. regarding this as well, and I will be forwarding them a copy of this note later this morning.
You are welcome to contact me regarding this if you wish.
Sincerely,
KB
I just got my bill from Waste Industries and they charged me $23.50 for a deactivation fee! I never deactivated from them and don’t want to pay that fee. What are my options??? I’m on disability and a fixed income. How can they just arbitrarily do this??
Hi Jan and thanks for dropping by. I think your question can best be answered in comment 25 above.
Is there an offical copy of the letter sent to Waste Industries that I can include in my bill when I DON’T pay the $23.50?
Hi Betsy. I will email the letter to you. If any one else would like the official copy please email me and I will send it to you.
I recieved the email below form Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful…No Help.
As you are aware, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, Inc. has no authority over current haulers.
As Gwinnett County noted publically yesterday, they officially notified Waste Industries that they have allegedly violated the Gwinnett County Solid Waste Ordinance by charging an unauthorized de-activation fee.
We cannot advise you on whether or not to pay the fee.
The County has stated that it will take any and all actions authorized by the Ordinance and law, including calling Waste Industries performance bond.
For more information feel free to contact us at 770.709.5600.
Thank you,
Dayla Peters
Program Coordinator
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
770.822.5187 Phone
770.822.5179 Fax
http://www.gwinnettcb.org
Got this reply today when I wrote to them about the added bill. I’m glad they are on our side!!!
Thank you for contacting us about the service fees being charged by your current waste hauler.
As you are aware, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. has no authority over current haulers.
As Gwinnett County noted publically yesterday, they officially notified Waste Industries that they have allegedly violated the Gwinnett County Solid Waste Ordinance by charging an unauthorized de-activation fee.
While we cannot advise you on whether or not you should pay the fee, the County has stated that it will take any and all actions authorized by the Ordinance and law, including calling Waste Industries performance bond.
We certainly understand your concerns and the challenges that this places on citizens like you. Your concerns underscore the need for the new garbage and recycling program and the many benefits it will offer in 2009 and beyond. Additional information about the new garbage and recycling system can be found at http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org.
Shannon Waldo
Program Coordinator
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, Inc.
770-822-5187 Phone
770-822-5179 Fax
http://www.gwinnettcb.org
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org
My question..who is going to pick up our waste and on what day? Will a notification be sent out? And what do we do with these waste containers from our good friends at Waste Industries”?
Hi Joe and welcome to the discussion. As far as who will pick up your waste refer to the map at this link:
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org/Manual/InfoPage.asp?ModID=32
See where your home is located on the map and contact the provider for your area. They will provide you with the info what day your pick up will be. As far as your Waste Industries container, I would suggest you contact them for their plan on collection.
Mack,
Thanks for this service. Before I found your web page, I called Waste Industries about the fee and I was about to send them a message through their website. After reading the info here, I will send my message below. I also plan to NOT pay the 23.50 fee. I don’t see them coming after customers who don’t pay, especially if they plan to stay in business in other areas of the country. If they come after me, I’ll deal with it then. I suggest others do the same. Just feel bad for customers who paid. Sad part is, if I was ASKED to pay this fee, AND I could be assured it would all go to employees being displaced, I would gladly pay it.
Message to Waste Industies:
I received my bill with the deactivation fee. I have read your message about this and I have also called and discussed with your office. I still can not understand why customers in good standing are being charged a fee for deactivation that they are not requesting. If you are being forced out of Gwinnett county, that is between your company and the county. Why would a company even consider charging good standing customers this deactivation fee? Is there someone from the county I can contact to express a concern?
I do not plan on paying the deactivation fee unless I can get a satisfactory explanation of why I should be required to.
I am sorry to hear about this situation. Your service has been fine for me.
Sincerely,
Gary
Acct#
I too have been sent an invoice for $23.50 which I refuse to pay.
I also find it a little disconcerting that Gwinnett County has decided who will pick up my trash and how much I will pay for trash pickup. I moved from Chicago where trash pick up charges were included in my taxes. Doesn’t anyone else have have a problem with this?
Hi Gary and thanks for the kind words. I am just afraid there will be countless numbers of Waste Industries customers who will unknowingly pay the fee. I hope Gwinnett County can in some way force Waste Industries to refund the fee that appears to be illegally collected.
i just wanted to know if robertson sanitation is going to be picking up anywhere in the county.
Hi John. My understanding is that Robertson Sanitation will not be handling any of Gwinnett County after 1-1-2009. Advanced Disposal Services Atlanta, LLC and Waste Pro of Georgia, Inc will be providing the trash pick up in the county after 1-1-2009.
Mack,
I’ve been researching and following this on the web and came across your page. I think it is great. I too received a bill with this fee on it and I too refuse to pay. There is a new responce from Waste Industries in regards to Gwinnett County posted on their site. They think they can charge this fee because it is not a rate hike. You can see my full saga, what I’ve done, and my responce to Waste Industries at my post. I’ve also included a local contact number for them where I expressed my refusal to pay this fee.
http://gill-house.blogspot.com/2008/11/waste-industries-abandons-customers-and_5211.html#0
Mikes last blog post..Waste Industries Abandons Customers and Charges Them a Deactivation Fee
Just went on Waste Industries website (http://www.waste-ind.com/). Their lawyers have now posted their response to Gwinnett County’s letter earlier this week. More legal posturing & bullying as to how it is their right to extort money from all of us customers.
Jim Perry, Waste Indstries CEO, give me a stinking break. “Valued customer”? HA! I’ll leave Gwinnett one day, probably sooner now because of all this. I’ll EAT my own garbage before I’ll EVER again be a customer of Waste Industries.
At this point, I’m tempted to take my dumpster to their Doraville location and cancel my service on Monday, still in November. They can state their terms of service on the back of their little bill, but I can choose to reject those terms and cancel. Since my service period is “December 2008″, I expect I should be able to end it before the fee becomes effective.
If a credit card changes terms, and you don’t like the new terms, I believe you have the option to cut up your card and close the account, assuming you have no balance. If I deliver the can to Waste Industries, they can’t charge me for coming to collect it.
I may just burn my trash in a 55 gal drum for the whole month of December. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Gwinnett leadership, Waste Industries, do us all a favor and go away.
KB
I just went to the Waste Industries site and read the letter from their attorney to Gwinnett County. Get attorneys involved and guess what words take on whole new meanings. Their site would not allow me to copy the letter and paste it here for everyone to see. Sorry. The legal posturing is underway so I guess it’s time to let the games begin.
I, too, am refusing to pay. I have sent a certified letter to their Pleasantdate office stating that I have not deactivated my service and that they can continue to be my hauler. Any problems they might have with permits and permission in Gwinnett is between them and Gwinnett. It seems like all we do lately is pay corporations to be inept. When business is good, they certainly don’t share their profits with us. Why are we expected to cover their losses. I have also sent some very angry comments to Bert Nasuti- the commissioner who was interviewed by Bill Liss and who said we should all just pay it. Nothing like a stand up guy is there?
Dona you raise an interesting point. Since you, nor any other Gwinnett resident, did not deactivate your service why should you have to pay a deactivation fee. Why didn’t Waste Industries send Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful or Gwinnett County a deactivation fee for all the accounts that they are responsible for deactivating? I think we all know the answer to that question, The county would tell them to go take a hike and inform them as they did in the letter to Waste Industries that they were in violation of the ordinance. The only shot that Waste Industries had at collecting any money for deactivation fees would be through the residents. You could probably guess that they figured that a certain percentage of their customers would just blindly pay the fee and move on. (I actually know of some people that have done exactly that) I am afraid that this garbage is going to get very messy.
All this talk about a $23 fee and nothing about a new service being rammed down our throats. Who voted for this? Who asked for this? Our goverment? What has happened to our right to chose even our thrash collector if we even want one. My house produces 2 small bags of trash a week that I dispose of in my company dumpster that I pay for. And now I am going to have to pay another TAX for a trash service that I don’t want or ever use.
Thank you Hugh!! I just found out about this today and was shown this link. I was wondering why the people on here are crying about a 23.50 FEE!! What about the more than double annual bill!! Whatever happen to competition? Look at the big picture people, screw the Fee. If this goes through what keeps the goverment from making other things mandatory? To ass insult to injury they will start TAKING the money from you by adding it to your property taxes!! I’ll pay all of your ridiculous fees if we could find a way to keep things how it is.
Personally, I don’t care who picks up my garbage as long as they have good service. I have had several issues with Waste Industries. It took me about four months to get them to pick up my recyclables, also EVERY week they either leave the container in the middle of my driveway where I have to get out (in the rain or cold) to move it so I can pull in, or in the street either blocking my driveway or my mailbox. I would also like a copy of the letter from the county to send with my last bill minus the $23.50. Every time you turn around the utility companies are adding some kind of fee for something and I’m tired of it!
I am with robertson sanitation and am currently charged $14.00 a month. With the new GCB trash plan I will be paying $6 more per mth. that’s $72 more for a year. I would rather pay $23.50 to keep Gwinnett from having a trash monopoly. This is ridiculous…Do we not have a say in this matter. I’ve already talked to an employee at GCB and she said there were surveys and phone calls sent out. I’ve never seen or heard of them, and she also ads that 5ooo people responded and the majority favored the Idea. That is still only 3% of residents in unincorporated GC. What about the real majority’s opinions. This county with have a Bureaucratic public works department like Dekalb Co.
Also the fees will be in with the property tax bill, which is very bad, because it’s so easy to attach junk fees without any question. Why won’t they make it more transparent. Just let competition determine a companies demise, not the Government !
“surveys went out, 5000 residents took part in planning this, notices went out, residents complaining about so many trucks, commissioners responding to residents complaints (well THAT would be a first, wouldn’t it!!!), state law requires a solid waste plan, this will be soooooo much better, blah, blah, blah”.
If you repeat a lie often enough, long enough, eventually everyone will think it’s the truth.
I guess next they’ll tell us that residents were complaining that Gwinnett didn’t have semi-pro baseball team, state law required that we have to have one (and provide a stadium at taxpayer expense), so the commissioners again respond “because they CARE about all us inferior subjects”. They’ll repeat the mantra, repeat, repeat, and by the way, they won’t respond to you directly, they’ll have a subordinate do that. Finally they’ll repeat it so long, every one will forget what the truth was at the very beginning.
And by the way, I took my dumpster to WI at their Pleasantdale Road address today and cancelled my service effective 30-Nov. I must say, every one there was super, super nice. The gentleman who handled my request removed the deactivation fee, gave me a receipt, and even signed the receipt that I had dropped off my dumpster. I have a zero balance. It’s not their fault that their CEO is a jerk, so if you do go down there, be nice to ‘em.
Now what to do with my trash until January. Seems that billions & billions of Gwinnett people have been dumping their trash all over the place for FREE!!!! I did not know we could DO that.
There is some trash in Gwinnett that DOES need to be thrown out, and it’s not recycleable (hopefully). It’s a pity we have to wait until the next election do it.
Look people, venting here is great, thanks Mack for the forum, but we’re swinging at air. Eventually the bat has to hit the ball. We need to make these people regret (legally) getting too big for their britches & forgetting who gave them their lofty perches. There is a saying “If you take a dog and make him prosperous, he won’t bite you……..”. ’nuff said. Make sure you & your friends don’t forget all this next election.
KB
KB - Does it surprise you that the contracts to the two selected providers were awarded on November 7th, three days after the general election?
Hey Mack,
Nope, it doesn’t surprise me a bit. What did surprise me is that after the stormwater fees added to our tax bill (again, they pave half the county with roads & parking lots, then SURPRISE, the rain has nowhere to go, so charge the taxpayers for the screw ups of the leadership), the BS with the new stadium (in the middle of a drought, traffic problems in that area, etc), and now the trash debacle, people STILL VOTED for them. What scares me is these are the things we KNOW about. What the heck else are they cooking up behind closed doors? Half the county gets UPS, the other half gets FedEX, and the county sets up an organization to manage it “for us”? Too many delivery trucks up & down our streets, don’t-cha know…
If the commissioners really wanted public input, they would have made it an election issue and have us vote for it. And Comrades, I mean, Commissioners, I do hope you’re reading here- if the state required THIS trash, then why aren’t OTHER counties doing it too? As I understand things, the state requires A trash plan. I challenge you to show us proof that the state MADE you implement THIS plan. -I’ll wager NONE of you have the cojones to come on here, or ScanGwinnett, or TalkAmerica, and face us.
It would be SO much easier to target specifically those who were doing the illegal dumping. Or how ’bout this “20000 Homeowners without trash service, you have 30 days to pick a trash service and provide proof to the county (like picking your own auto insurance and showing proof to the DMV to get your tag). If you don’t pick a trash service, the county will pick one for you and bill you”. PROBLEM SOLVED! That took all of 3 minutes for me to think of and type.
Unfortunately, the last real contender we had for commissioner for District 4 wound up getting smeared by the Gwinnett DA a week prior to the runoff election, to “keep things fair” (his words in the paper). Where did those potential charges against the challenger lead? NOWHERE that I’ve seen. I’ll bet most folks have already forgotten about that. Sheep. Baa-aa-aa-aa.
Well gotta run. Again, swinging at air. Must go find a re-education compound for re-indoctrination. I’m sure I’ll be much happier after I’m reprogrammed.
One final thing- Don Shaw [trashgwinnett@gmail.com] is working on some possible legal angles to fight this. Anyone interested, send him an email & let him know your thoughts. He’s working to keep people informed and united.
KB
According to the http://www.waste-ind.com website, their lawyers claim a “rate” is not a “fee” and a “fee” is not a “rate”, therefore you MUST pay the $23.50.
As for Trash Pickup, the real trash is sitting on the Gwinnett County Commission; they don’t give a damn about the citizens being charged fro their screw-ups. Let’s not forget to throw them out with the trash next time.
Question : If Georgia state law requires socialized garbage pickup, WHY IS IT NOT HAPPENING IN EVERY COUNTY IN GEORGIA?\
I recently became aware of changes to my garbage collection service via letter from some quasi-official organization calling themselves “Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful ” telling me that my trash pickup was about to be cancelled and replaced without my consent. I called the number to this GCB outfit and found out that they had indeed been authorized by Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to hijack the waste pick up services in this county. I spoke to a few people including their “Media Contact” Jane Langley, (404) 219-5887. None of them could tell me anything other than “they had been authorized by state law” blah blah blah .
This is the first I have heard of any changes to my trash pickup.When did Gwinnett County decide to deny me the right to choose my own trash pickup provider?
I wrote to the chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Kommisars. Not that it will do any good since they are firewalling themselves with this low-life lobbyist group of non-government socialist wannabes.
Until yesterday I figured Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful was responsible for handing out tree coloring books. Looks like instead of making their case to the people , our valiant commisioners decided to hide their actions (ie spreading YOUR wealth around ) behind the skirts of a watered down pack of Green Thugs.
If Gwinnett wanted to be in the garbage business because they are going to lose tax revenue, WHY DIDN’t THEY JUST SAY SO? Cowards.
I can’t believe this. Did we lose a war or something?
Should I prepare myself for accepting the Board’s choice for my dentist ? Perhaps they will get into the insurance business next?
I do not want socialized garbage pickup.
Had I been given the option to vote , I would have voted against this.This should not even be a question in a free market. I guess I will have another chance to vote in the future. I will make it count.
I will aways vote against government takeover of the private sector. I will always vote against those who carry it out.
KB I just read your comment. EXACTLY SPOT ON!
Directly from the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Website:
Do I have to recycle?
Yes. A cleaner tomorrow starts with recycling today. Waste haulers will provide residents with two 95-gallon wheeled carts, one for trash and one for recyclables (up to 35 items).
Who do these people think they are?
I. Do. Not. Recycle. Now. Or . Ever.
Makes me want to burn a tractor tire and some PVC pipe.
KB,
I saw your post about you went over WASTE INDUSTRIES’s pleasantdale road office yesterday to cancel your service. And they removed your deactivation fee per your request. I call that office today, and ask if I cancel my Dec. service now, do I still need to pay the deactivation fee? The answer is: no matter what, I have to pay the $23.5 deactivation fee. So how do you able to have them remove your fee?
TAL, I’m sorry you had that experience. I didn’t do anything special, other than stick my dumpster in the back of my truck and haul it down there. I made sure to point out that since I was paid up thru the end of November 08, and was canceling my service effective 30-Nov, and returning my can, I should have a zero balance. And that’s want the guy there did. As he pulled up my account, he also mentioned he was removing “the fee”. I did not ask about removing the fee while on the phone- I only asked if I could return the can and terminate my service at that physical location. I’ve found that you do have to be careful asking for things by phone, because it’s easier for the person on the other end to tell you “no” than if you’re standing there in person.
However, I’d disagree that you have to pay the fee no matter what. If you end your service before the new term starts, and return your own can to them, they have no basis for the fee (example of credit card comment #44 above). A lawyer friend confirmed this. In the time since I was there yesterday morning, someone at their corporate office may have “caught on”, but while I was there in person, they were very nice. I’d mention the guy’s name I dealt with, but I don’t want to get him in hot water with his CEO.
And Jay, I plan to recycle. I will put EXACTLY ONE Mountain Dew can per week in the recycle bin. Everything else will go in the other can. GCB I’ve read will have their little Gestapo trash inspectors picking thru trash to determine levels of “compliance” per neighborhood, and possibly sending teams to “educate” those neighborhoods with low compliance. If they come to my door, after I scare the living daylights out of them, I will tell them that I sell my own aluminum, paper, and plastic recyclables and pocket the money myself. From the tone of citizens here and everywhere else I read, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s little utopia is about get pretty dirty & ugly.
I’d advise picking thru Gwinnett’s ordinances on the matter, just to make sure you know where the “line” is, then stay at the “line” without crossing & making yourself a target to be made an example of.
What a wonderful county we live in….
I have e-mailed commissioners. Would you believe Bannister had the Clean&Beautiful chairman respond to my email. Nasuti (my commission who was interviewed by Bill Liss on TV and who said he had paid the 23.50 and implied that we should all just pay and move on to a better system) had his admin respond to me. She was very nice and implied that what we saw on TV was not what Nasuti had really said- that it had been edited. Well, maybe; but I saw the interview and the fact that he just paid the fee is enough to anger me. A few years back I had an issue and called my state senator. The Senator called me personally and did his best to help me. Our commissioners are so important that they can’t communicate with us directly????
Also, I remember a year or so ago getting a notice in my water bill about this trash business. There was an online survey so they could get our opinions. I took the survey. What a joke. It was written so that you either answered the questions with replies that bordered on saying that you personally believed that we should all spread toxic waste over our properties or you thought this controlled trash pickup thing was a good idea. I do have some graduate training in hou to write surveys. This one was truly designed for them to get the answers they wanted.
Question: I will remember this at the next election. What will be the best way for those of us who do remember to remind our fellow citizens about this?
We certainly have had some interesting conversation regarding this garbage. I am totally shocked (NOT) that someone from Waste Industries (or one of their attorneys) has not dropped in and made a comment. Waste Industries if you are reading this let me help you understand one thing:
Monthly Rate = Check from Customer
Deactivation Fee = Check from Customer - possibly included with Monthly Rate Check
You can put lipstick on a pig……
Fellow comrades of Gwinnett,
I’ll follow the lead of our exalted county leaders and try to make you mad & ruin your holiday. Following is a link to the Gwinnett ordinance recently passed which controls the new waste plan. Read the whole thing if you have time, but pay special attention to end of page 12 thru around page 14. You fine citizens now have a new job of separating your trash, placing it in the correct can, and rolling 2 cans instead of one down to the curb. Oh, and by the way, once you put your aluminum & plastic into the can, the county owns it and the rights to any recycling proceeds.
And if you don’t obey, you’ll be in violation of the ordinance and subject to a $500 fine (detailed near the end of the document). So much for living a quiet life, minding your own business, working hard, and trying to get along. All that has gotten us is dumped on.
I have some specific words for you county commissioners and what you can “do” with your plan, but out of respect for Mack and the honorable citizens on this forum, I’ll save them until I can spit them in your “collective” faces. Unlike you, I will not hide behind Connie Wiggins. And I, and others on this & other forums, will not cease nor desist until we make your stealthy little lives miserable, expose you for the thugs you are, and toss your butts to the curb with the rest of the garbage, which will no doubt smell like flowers compared to you.
I’m outa here for a few days. To Gwinnett citizens, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org/Documents/Solid_Waste_Ordinance_2008_2008112050.pdf
KB
New website for information for those who oppose the county’s new trash ‘plan’. http://www.trashgwinnett.com/
I’m a tree-hugging liberal and I find this outrageous. I’m doing my own aluminum can recycling so that I can receive the proceeds. Once this trash pick-up fee is added to our property taxes, we will never notice the incremental fees that will be added (and never referred to as “fee increases”). I’m for various social programs but this is purely a market issue that should remain privatized to encourage competition and keep prices reasonable. I hope we won’t forget this during the next election. Thanks, Mack, for this site. Please, keep us abreast.
Thanks KB, for the link; I’m glad I waited until after Thanksgiving to read that.
From the county plan (signed by your servant Charles Bannister on October 28th) here are some of the things you will be fined $500 for each day they occur:
1. Leaving your trash can by the curb more than 24 hours (better hope that flight home doesn’t get delayed).
2. Not separating every_single_piece of recyclable material from your trash.
3.Leaving a tree limb by the curb that is more than 3 feet long.
4. Retreiving something from the trash can on the curb that you accidentally threw away.
5. Giving something you set out by the curb to an interested passerby that offers to take it away for you (I’ve done this many times with old appliances, lawn mowers, etc)
6. Taking any brush, limbs, wood etc away from your property without a trash-hauling license, permit, insurance, bond, etc.
…any many more too numerous to list.
Are we becoming a communist country? Where oh where has our freedom gone? Thank you Mr. Bannister for this unnecessary intrusion into our lives by a bunch of busy-bodies in Lawrenceville. I will NEVER vote for you or any of your cronies again….
I am 100 % with you guys.I never had any problem ( traffic or noise , billing) with my old trash pickup service for the last 5 years.i am also against bundelling up various private and commercial bills with my annual property tax bill. I do not want to wait untill the county commisioner put the paste controll ,internet ,etc bills on my property tax bill? who the hell gave the county governemnt the right to decide how much to pay for the service i want to have? pls contact all old trash pickup providers in the county and ask them the real reasons their cotract terminated?
As a small hauler who is losing a 600 a mon account due to the SOCIALIZED GARBAGEI am for the other haulers charging a fee but it should be only for the cost of bringing in the equipment and thats it I feel for them but all that sh** about taking care of the displaced worker is hog wash. I chose not to charge my lone account any fees is because I want to continue to have a good business relationship with them in other venues . Also didnt Gwinett try this back in 1990 and where stopped? HMMM Also for only two companies to get all 8 or six zones hmmm fishy Not to mention advances AIG connection HMMM fiscal responsibility must not be high on the GCB list.
Mr Nolte, It sounds as though your account is a commercial account. If this is so then they are not required to change. The following is from the Q and A section of the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful site:
Who will not be included in the new plan?
* Residents living in apartment complexes
* Residents living in incorporated cities of Gwinnett
* Property owners that do not have a dwelling on their site
* Businesses and commercial establishments
I hope this is helpful to you. BTW I had to edit your comment just a bit. Feel free to comment but please keep the language clean.
I don’t claim to know a thing about how county government works, and I certainly don’t know who is really making money off of this proposition, but I understand (maybe) some of the impetus for the program. I live in South Gwinnett where there has been a lot of littering and indiscriminate dumping of trash bags (off vehicles - and in the middle of the road and the rights-of-ways - as well as at vacant houses and property) for at least the last 4 years. I’ve witnessed it happening (trash bags falling off vehicles) and had to clean up numerous “exploded” bags of trash from the street in front of my house.
I read the Ordinance document (thanks KB for the link!). Typical of most “legal” documents, it is not an easy read.
I have a question: I own a duplex. I live on one side and rent the other side (when I can!). I see references in the Ordinance doc defining multi-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, etc., but I do not see where those terms are used later in the document. Am I required to pay $20.49 times 2 because I have a duplex, or do I pay $20.49 and share the trash receptacles with my tenants? I’ve written GCB with the question and hope to have the answer in the next couple of days.
If anyone here has the answer, please let me know. I hope I won’t be paying $41 a month for trash pickup!
Also, does anyone know how the Waste company intends to enforce payment for the service for the first 6 months? If a resident doesn’t pay for the service (and they dispose of the trash themselves), is the resident subject to the $500 fine?
I’m not sure Gwinnett will realize their goal of having a cleaner Gwinnett, and I feel badly for the waste companies who will be losing their clients and revenue so close to the holidays. I’m sure those companies will lay-off their staff, which will only contribute to the high unemployment. [Wouldn't it be nice to have Commissioners who understand the BIG picture and understand how one act can affect so many other things? Like: lost jobs, foreclosure, lost freedom, etc., etc.]
Some of the trash issues that plague south Gwinnett may not be fixed by this new plan. Many of the exploded trash bags on my street came from a nearby apartment complex (apt complexes are exempt from the mandatory plan). The apt complex tenants will put their trash bags on the roof of their SUV with the intention of throwing the bag(s) in the dumpster at the entrance to the complex. They forget, and the huge, black bag full of used baby diapers, Hispanic food wrappers and soiled toilet paper lands on my street! I’ve seen people (Hispanics) pulling out of the complex with the bag still on top of their car, and I’m flashing my lights and waving like a banshee in an attempt to get them to stop. The illegal immigration issue is certainly a whole different subject, but I have seen more trash on the roads and in the rights-of-way in Gwinnett in just the last 4 years than the previous 16 years I’ve lived in the county.
I witnessed a Hispanic woman throw a Chick-Fil-A box out of the window of her moving vehicle the other day. I was in my neighborhood, so I followed her a block to her house and yelled to her that Gwinnett County streets are not a trash can! I think the Gwinnett County taxpayers’ money would have been better spent to educate the hundreds of thousands of “anchor” children in our public schools about not littering in America!
I am old enough to remember the “stop littering” TV commercials of the 1960’s. Why can’t we have more education and enforcement regarding littering and dumping instead of Gwinnett County’s socialistic mandates?
MH
Hi MH and thanks for such a well thought out comment. I too remember the “Stop Littering” commercials and agree that there needs to be better education regarding this matter. I would be interested to know the response regarding the trash pick up at your duplex. Perhaps there may be another duplex owner that reads this that you could help.
Here is my take on the big picture, after thinking about it for awhile. You have to go back in time a bit-
I’ve lived in Gwinnett since 1987, Gwinnett Mall was brand new, traffic was easy (compared to now), a LOT less people. Thru the miracle working of Wayne Hill, Scott Hudgeons (Mall of Ga developer, among other ‘master pieces’), various county commissioners along the way, etc, Gwinnett has turned into a BIG TRASH HEAP, in more ways than just trash management.
The county intentionally brings in more people, cars, pavement. The result-
1-The county leaders pave half the county, the rain has nowhere to go, so they want us to pay for “stormwater management”.
2-Traffic is an abysmal mess, despite more roads, so they want us to car pool, use public transportation, work from home, etc.
3-They add more people, cars, houses, and then want to add a penny sales tax to add more fire stations, police stations, parks, etc. And THEN they have the nerve to brag about how great it is that they added all this stuff. Hey guys, we didn’t NEED 50 police & fire stations BEFORE you added all this extra mess. I’d much rather hike thru some natural woods than the “natural” parks you claim to have created (with my finances by the way).
4-More houses, businesses, limited water resourses. They want us to use less water per household, but when we do, and revenues go down along with water consumption, they RAISE the rates, so NOW I’m paying MORE for doing what they told me to do, to fix a problem THEY created. Real fair, huh?
There are so many other examples of this, but there is a common theme: COMPRESSION. How do you take more & more people & make them fit in limited territory with limited resources? COMPRESSION.
The trash “problem” was so simple to fix. Problem- 20000 houses not paying for trash service. Lots of reasons why this could be- house empty, owner has a business & uses his business dumpster, or the owner could be an illegally dumping jerk. The way to fix is for the county to make a registry of home addresses and who their trash service is (like the DMV requiring proof of insurance before they issue you a car tag. They don’t care who you use, as long as you meet minimum requirements). If a house does not demonstrate that they have trash service, county sends them a letter giving 30 days to pick a service or the county will pick one for them and bill them accordingly. There. Problem of 20000 houses without trash service solved, no other residents or trash haulers impacted.
But, there is still a problem for the commissioners. Not as many residents are RECYCLING as the county would like. Even my simple solution above doesn’t address recycling. Imagine you are now a county official. Your landfills are filling up. You can’t keep adding more people if this continues. The solution- COMPRESSION Devise a plan that REQUIRES recycling of more & more materials, and threatens with hefty fines if the dumb masses don’t comply. Result- more revenue to the county from proceeds of recycled materials, AND, SLOWER FILLING OF LANDFILLS.
Don’t kid yourselves for a second that the county cares a rip about our environment (ie, new stadium, all the malls, roads, shopping plazas, etc. They are working to reduce (COMPRESS) the impact of each resident so they can (mystery revealed)—- ADD MORE RESIDENTS, INCREASE TAX BASE, HEAVENLY CHOIR SINGS, dogs and cats live at peace once again.
Put this in your morning cereal & crunch it, then tell me if this fits the pattern.
Regards,
KB
I received an email today from Don Shaw on Trashgwinnett saying that, according to Dayla Peters of GCB, residents have the option of not having the GC imposed garbage service at their residence from Jan 2 - June 30. However, as of July 2009, the service will be mandatory and the fee will be added to your property tax bill.
This is very confusing! Should I cancel my Robertson Sanitation service or not?
Anybody have any ideas about how to proceed?
MH
The harsh Gwinnett County $500 fine for not recycling has now reached THE DRUDGE REPORT! See the left column of
http://www.drudgereport.com/
The foolishness of our Commissioners is now “going national” for all to see…
The Drudge Report is actually linking to an AJC article:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/12/04/gwinnett_recycling_fine.html
PREFACE: I submitted these three posts on another website. Should have posted them here, so I could have avoided a request to purchase soap. So sorry, I’m new.
One of the 3 big lies:
“Hi, I’m here from the government and I’m here to help you.”
When government steps in and reduces competition, the consumer seldom benefits.
Under this plan, I will have NO trash removal options. Before, if I was unhappy with a hauler’s price or quality of service, I had the opportunity to shop around for a better deal; something I’ve done several times over the years. Now I’m stuck with whatever company the County forces upon me and will have to pay whatever rate they decide to charge. HOW CAN THIS BE A GOOD THING?
My guess is that the County doesn’t give a care how many trash haulers its residents use. This is nothing more that a subtle way to raise revenue without raising taxes. We’ll pay the higher rates and the selected haulers will kick it back to the County in the form of permits, disposal fees, and the like.
As the old saying goes, “You can spray perfume on a pig, but its still a pig.” I think this decision stinks of “pork”.
My humble opinion.
R—–,
When I used the term “kickbacks” I should have realized that it would be subject to misinterpretation. Of course I know of no individual, or group of individuals, who will illegally benefit from this decision. However, some degree of natural suspicion is always in order whenever politicians make far-reaching decisions such as this.
The purpose behind my original post was two-fold.
First, I suggest that lack of competition is hardly good for consumers. We now have choices. Soon we won’t. We will be forced to pay any future rate increases and accept whatever level of service is provided without recourse because the County has removed free and healthy competition from the marketplace. Once again, how does government creation of a monopoly benefit us?
Second, what does the County gain from all of this? If nothing, why go through the bother? Will any more of our money, than is currently the case, end up in County coffers? If so, this is the “kickback” I was referring to. If the chosen TWO will be subject to increased licensing fees, disposal fees, transfer fees, etc., and this extra money ends up in County hands, then we’ve just been fleeced. Follow the money if you really want to know what’s going on, or so the saying goes.
Time will tell if this decision was good for the majority of us. Right now, I have serious doubts.
Latest headline on Drudge Report:
“Georgia County Imposes $500 Fine On Residents For Not Recycling”
Guess what county he’s talking about. You’re right, Gwinnett County!
Now that we’re being supplied with a separate container for recyclables, local officials can look inside to see if we separate our trash according to their standards and fine us if we don’t.
Some of you may recall having your homes visited by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department officers earlier this year. The purpose of their visit was to check on the condition of our homes and property. They issued “citations” for such things as trash in the yard, house needs painting, siding needs repair, etc. I guess they’ll be assigned to inspect our recyclable containers now. After all, the issuance of a citation and the levying of a $500 fine is a legal matter. Fortunately, our police officers don’t have any criminals to worry about so code enforcement can help fill their quiet hours.
As the old saying goes, “Once the camel gets his head inside the tent, the rest isn’t far behind”. What’s next from our elected officials, mandatory lawn mowing schedules? How about, maximum flushes allowed per day? The list of possibilities is endless.
Just remember, in order for government to gain power over your life, you must first allow them to take away your freedom.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not pleased with the direction Gwinnett County is headed.
Just read the links on Drudge, also Redstate. All I can say is, another case of the Pot calling the Kettle black—
I’ve lived in Gwinnett for over 20 years & seen a lot of junk, but this is over the top. The county commissioners for years have paved over everything that isn’t airborn, built malls like there’s no tomorrow, now there’s now where for the rain to go, so they charge us a “stormwater management” fee. Yeah, guess who gets the fee to “manage” our storm water. Gwinnett leaders.
Then they ram a new BASEBALL STADIUM down our throats. Yeah, THAT’s the way to save the old environment, ain’t it. Even LESS permeable earth to absorb rain water, MORE CARS going to games, MORE traffic congestion & pollution. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful my REAR END (being nice here)! Gwinnett commies have a lot of nerve (obviously) to trash our environment when it suits them, but then create yet another beaurocratic debacle to make Gwinnett “clean and beautiful” again, AND then LECTURE US on the noble cause of recycling and getting all those polluting garbage trucks off the street? HELLOOOOO????
I feel like the only sober person at a drunk for all (meaning Gwinnett, was not referring to this forum)
Tell you what, Charles Bannister, YOU signed the ordinance. YOU come to MY house and MAKE me sort my trash for your stupid little plan. Don’t send your little inspectors, or use your “Gwinnett Police powers”. I have a lot of GPDO friends and it wouldn’t be fair to them to be dragged into this. If you want to PAY me to do YOUR sorting, fine, we’ll negotiate what my time is worth. Or, once I throw away all my trash, you’re welcome to pick thru all the food scraps & snotty rags for whatever you think is valuable. You try to make me sort, yeah baby, MAYBE I’ll sort. Then I’ll run the sorted paper, aluminum, glass, and plastics thru a wood chipper/ shredder. Good luck sorting that out to make any money.
You & Kenerly need to grow some manhood & stop hiding behind Cindy Wiggin’s skirt like a bunch of scared little boys. Mack has my permission to give you my email address (but you already have it because I’ve been emailing you).
You want to make Gwinnett clean & beautiful- Take your sorry commissioner butts & LEAVE the county, now that you’ve made us the laughing stock of the COUNTRY.
What you will do is circle your wagons, chant what a great plan this is, and not answer directly your constituents.
My only solace is that you may finally have succeeded in screwing over the voters badly enough that they’ll remember this at the next election in 2 years and vote your sorry tails out. I for one will do everything in my power to make sure no one forgets.
Makes me so mad I will now go take a nice hot bath & really use up some water and electricity.
(Mack, the stories on Drudge & Redstate got on my last good nerve. Feel free to edit & tone this down if I crossed the line)
KB
@ Harold Brown - Welcome and thank you for your insightful comments. I don’t intend to sell you soap so feel free to come back often.
@KB - Sorry buddy but I’m not going to give anyone your email address and I certainly will not tone down your comments. The only time I edit comments is for improper language (George Carlin’s Seven Words) or if someone makes it past the spam filter attempting to sell prescription drugs. I’m not crazy about personal promotion and will edit it as I see fit.
It used to be that one had to wash out all of their recyclables like soft drink bottles, cans, etc. Is that still the case? In the past I have not recycled because I didn’t want to waste all that water and the fact that one used to have to pay more for trash pickup if one recycled. Personally, I do a lot to conserve water- always have cause I have a septic system. Also, does this mean that the guy who cuts my bushes back for me can’t haul away the cuttings and I am not allowed to leave them on my property to decompose?
I received the following (in an email) from Shannon Waldo of GCB in response to my question about whether a duplex is considered separate residences and therefore I would have to pay double the $20+ fee for trash collection:
“For the first six months of 2009, you have the option of NOT having the service at that residence that is not occupied as well as your own if need be.”
Again, I’m confused. The letter to the GC residents from Connie Wiggins indicated that residents would not be required to contact the new haulers to arrange for trash bins to be delivered. [In fact, the tone of the letter was that GCB would prefer customers NOT contact the haulers at all!]
Is GCB going to “earn their non-profit money” and take charge of contacting the haulers with a list of customers who are NOT going to be using the new service for the first 6 months of the program? Are the trash bins going to be delivered to my home and I will be responsible for contacting the trash company to retrieve their bins that I am not going to use?
Now, the fees that the new haulers are relying on (from the GCBOC mandated plan) to pay the huge insurance premiums for their required liability insurance will not be forthcoming if residents continue service with their current hauler. Don’t you know the haulers will be miffed with GCB and GCBOCs if the majority of the residents stay with their current service for the first 6 months of 2009!
I use Robertson Sanitation. They did not attempt to levy the $23.50 fee for cancellation of their service. If anyone is interested in continuing independent trash collection for the first 6 months of 2009, Robertson Sanitation’s phone number is 770-921-7337. In the past 2 years I have used Robertson, I have never experienced a problem. They provide prompt and reliable service.
Way to go Charles Bannister and the GC Board! This has been a great example of your abilities to plan for every aspect of your actions! Typical government ineptitude (in my opinion!).
MH
My understanding is that as of Jan. 1st no one but the two approved haulers will have licenses to pick up trash in Gwinnett. In fact, I am not paying the 23.50 fee because it is Waste Industries that failed to get a license (franchise or whatever) and I did not cancel my service. If my information is correct, this means that you can’t continue to use Robertson.
I’ve been following this post for a long time now. I’ve also looked at many other sites to find the answer to the following questions. Can anyone help?
1) Who were these 5,000 people in the survey? Were they the friends and family of GCB?
2) How can I be notified (or find out) about any more ludicrous ideas going on that we won’t be able to vote on? We certainly did not get a chance to give our input!
3) Are the both of the fees mentioned just a base rate fee? Will we be stuck with other profit margin boosters like “Franchise Fees”, “Customer Service Fees”, “Fuel Usage Fees” and of course taxes?
Mike
Well, I guess I didn’t understand (DUH!) “how things work” in Gwinnett County, because I was just told — via email — from Robertson Sanitation that as of January 1, 2009 they are prohibited from providing service to any resident in Gwinnett County. So, if I don’t pay Waste Pro for trash and recycling services for the first 6 months of 2009, I’ll be hauling my own trash. Talk about illegal dumping!
MH
Well, not only did I get my ‘deactivation bill’ from my old carrier, I just got a bill from my NEW carrier, Waste Pro, who has not yet delivered a cart nor picked up my garbage even once. We’re supposed to pay for this service before we even start using it?
Well, you know, in the beginning of our country, the British pulled this same mess (taking over the tea trade with excess taxes). They had a little party called the “Boston Tea party”. Those folks are considered patriots in our country’s history. Maybe it’s time for a little patriotic party against tyranny here in our own county, called the “Gwinnett Trash Party”. (This statement is for “entertainment purposes only”, of course) How SIMPLY GRAND it would be for these “public servants” (yeah right, and I’m Santa Claus!) to come home from their little $15000 vacation in Young Harris to homes & yards FULL of Gwinnett’s best leavings. Illegal dumping at it’s finest.
There was a book some time ago titled “Unintended Consequences”. This arrogant crowd needs to experience some of their unintended consequences.
KB
I too received a bill from Waste Industries for $23.50. When I call to inquire I was told that I had to pay the bill. I nicely informed them that I did not cancel the service and that I would not pay this fee. They got a little hostile which only reinforced my desire not to pay. Can anyone tell me what my options are?
The entire Gwinnett County “new trash” program is just that…”trash”. What a debacle, what a waste, no pun intended. I’m now going to be paying more for poorer services. Typical Gwinnett County ripoff by Clean & Beautiful & our Commissioners. I sent them all a very detailed email re: this & got not one response. None of them will ever get a vote from me again!
I received notice of the $23.50 increase. I pondered it and fumed and decided not to pay. I did wait a awhile so a $5 late fee is valid. I paid all but $23.50 - 5, or $18.50, on 29nov. I received a letter yesterday stating that my service has been interrupted. AW now wants $18.50 plus a $30 suspension or $48.50 Total. As far as I’m concerned, they can go rot along with all the garbage that will be piled in my container whenever they pick it up. Plus, I expect the suspension fee to be waived since I have no intent of re-establishing service. Plus, for every week they do not pick-up I expect a credit back to my account for either old or the new effective per week cost.
Aside from its anti-American, anti-free enterprise theme, the new Solid Waste Plan is riddled with all kinds of problems unforseen by the busybody nannies at Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.
For example, I have a big, 70-ft long holly hedge that I cut back every few years; it needs cutting soon and I plan to cut it back in the spring. Usually I hire a “yard man” to haul off the sizeable pile of clippings (it’s a huge amount uncompressed, imagine 2-3 dump trucks worth).
Well, because of the New Idiotic Solid Waste plan, it’s now ILLEGAL for landscapers to haul off yard debris unless THEY do the cutting for you. But it’s my yard, I paid for it, I planted it, and I besides, I like to cut my own bushes! They only way I can legally dispose of the clippings now is to cut and tie these huge branches into 3 ft bundles. It would take me months to do that (at great pain) and I estimate maybe 300-plus bundles would have to be tied and placed at the curb; that is, if I have any fingers left and if the new GCB hauler would even pick up that many bundles. My old hauler Waste Industries limits us to 8 bundles per pickup, but they were nice enough to take the 15 bundles I tied recently anyway after they told me politely about the 8-bundle limit. That’s why I hired the now-llegal independent haulers. And please don’t lecture me about composting; I tried that, and it took most of my half-acre lot. And within a month I had the largest rat colony in the neighborhood, so we got rid of the compost pile. But my son did enjoy shooting the rats with his BB gun!
The Gwinnett County Commission is composed of IDIOTS; we will not forget in the next election!!!!
In a meeting today this trashy topic came up again. Several of the participants at the meeting were investors who owned multiple properties in unincorporated Gwinnett County. After July first these investors will inadvertently be paying for trash pick up because the fee will be added to their tax bill. They will possibly not be able to recoup the expense until the lease renews. This is just another example of how our elected officials did not think this thing through or maybe they just don’t care. Perhaps the latter is more accurate.
Can’t believe this suspension fee. I haven’t heard from them yet. What is going on with this injunction business I heard about in the news? Is Waste Industries a part of the suit? If Waste Industries persists in this ridiculous and vindictive behavior I want to start an informational campaign about how we ‘valued’ customeers have been treated aimed at the specific areas where they do business, especially North Carolina, although I will probably start with the other municipalities in Georgia. Let me know if any of you have any thoughts or ideas about an informational campaign. I want to give Waste Industries time to rethink what they are doing before I begin and think I should officially inform them of my intent (which is more courtesy than they extended to us). I suspect that letting other municipalities and customers know what has happened to us will be very damaging to their image so I don’t want to rush into this.
By the way, do file complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Waste Industries will have to respond and once they do with all their legal stuff, one can then refuse to accept their explanation, which never addresses why we, not Gwinnett, owe this fee when we did not cancel our service. Their executives need to learn that there are prices to pay for treating customers unfairly- and one price is the paperwork involved with the BBB complaints. Plus doing this- just go to the BBB online site- puts you on record as disputing this charge, documentation that you aren’t just not paying a bill for no reason.
Waste Industries took away our trashcans yesterday. I assume that they are no longer picking up our trash. What are we supposed to do with our trash until January?
Thanks,
SB
see comment 86
for laughs..of COURSE
Question for Susan- were you paid up thru December? Also, did you pay the 23.50.
Waste Industries CEO Jim W. Perry is a member of the National Solid Wastes Management Association and their Website is listed above along with his contact info including his email address. I have also included it below.
Jim W. Perry
Waste Industries
3301 Benson Drive, Suite 601
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: 919-325-3000
Fax: 919-325-3013
Email: jim.perry@wasteindustries.com
Hi Everyone. As we go through life and have to deal with idiotic behavior and judgments made by others, occasionally there is something that is just so refreshing that it has to be shared. Check out this link to see why I am so happy today:
http://www.mackperryhomes.com/tessa-camille-perry/
Congratulations Mack! I’m not there quite yet, but I hear it’s wonderful to be a grandparent
I am confused. Will our trash automatically be collected come Jan or do we have to do something. I have Advanced as my new carrier. I already got my can delivered but nothing from them about payment.
I would have to find my last bill to see when we were paid up through. I have not received a bill for the 23.50…yet.
Well this is the response that I received from Gwinnett County. They were no help.
Gwinnett County has come back and stated that they are not taking any additional action towards Waste Industries for this fee as attorneys have determined that the company is within their rights to charge this fee to their customers.
Shannon Waldo
Program Coordinator
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, Inc.
770-822-5187 Phone
770-822-5179 Fax
http://www.gwinnettcb.org
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org
——————————————————————————–
From: LeShunta [mailto:leshunta
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 1:50 PM
To: Shannon Waldo
Subject: RE: Trash Collection
Importance: High
You did not understand what I said. I HAVE NOT received a bill from Waste Pro nor did I know that they were my new trash provider. The bill that I received was from Waste Industries and it was for a deactivation fee. My question is how can I be charged for something that I did not do. And what is the county doing to help with the problem.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shannon Waldo [mailto:swaldo@gwinnettcb.org]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 1:34 PM
To: leshunta
Subject: RE: Trash Collection
The bill that you received from Waste Pro is for the first quarter of trash removal for 2009. This plan has been in the research stages since 2006 and there have been several opportunities for public input since that time.
If you do not wish to have trash service for the first six months of 2009, you do have that option. But as of July 1, 2009, it will be mandatory that all residences in Gwinnett County have waste removal service. The cost will be included on the property tax bills as a separate service line item fee as of July 1, 2009.
Shannon Waldo
Program Coordinator
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services, Inc.
770-822-5187 Phone
770-822-5179 Fax
http://www.gwinnettcb.org
http://www.gwinnettcbservices.org
——————————————————————————–
From: Info [mailto:info@gwinnettcbservices.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:39 PM
To: Shannon Waldo
Subject: FW: Trash Collection
——————————————————————————–
From: LeShunta
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 9:52 AM
To: Callcenter Manager
Subject: Trash Collection
Looking at your map I have no idea who is going to be picking up my trash. The first I heard about this is when I got a letter for money from Waste Industries for a deactivation fee for a service that I did not cancel. I left Waste Pro because I did not like the service that they were providing to me and am still in a dispute with them because they owe me money for services that were never provided. Why is it that the first I hear about this change is when my trash collector sends a letter for payment? Also what are we to do with the containers and when will we receive the new containers and what day of the week will my new service be. These are all questions that I need to get answers for. Lastly is anything going to be done about the deactivation fee that they are trying to force upon us? I live in Loganville.
LeShunta, I’m in Loganville (unincorporated) too. You should be served by Waste Pro. The GCB website shows a map of the county. There are two areas NW and SE. Waste Pro is SE.
I received a WP invoice yesterday, Tuesday. you will probably see the same soon.
LeShunta, you could also just look at the top of this webpage. I don’t know how I missed that.
Good article on http://www.11alive.com. Go out read the article and post a comment. By doing so you will be showing your support of Sanitation Solutions, Southern Sanitation and Roy Barnes who are fignting what Gwinnett county has done to us. Keep this issue in the public eye.
Copy of an email I just sent Jim Perry. Email address is Jim.Perry@wasteindustries.com
Still am not sure if I am actually going to pay. Here is what has happened with me. I did not pay the first bill but wrote ‘in dispute’ on it and attached a letter with my reasons for not paying and sent it certified mail. Yesterday, I got another bill for the 23.50 marked ‘past due’ and was told to pay immediately. I want to see what happens with the injunction business before I decide if I am actually going to pay. Personally, I think good ole Jim needs to get more email.
Mr. Jim Perry, CEO of Waste Industries:
I am one of the ‘valued’ customers that you are penalizing for the actions of Gwinnett County. I have repeatedly asked your representatives to remove the deactivation fee from my account because I did not deactivate my account. In fact, your failure to retain permissions to continue servicing Gwinnett county is a matter of your company letting me down. I did absolutely nothing to incur this fee. I have even offered to return my waste bins to your Pleasantdale office if you will let me know when I can do this and receive receipts for them just to help you out because I do feel that Gwinnett County did not treat you fairly.
If you have a problem with how Gwinnett selected haulers for their new program, why aren’t you confronting them as are Sanitation Solutions and Southern Sanitation? Why are you punishing your customers? Won’t it be funny if an injunction is granted and you do have the opportunity to continue working in Gwinnett. Wonder how you will be received by those of us you are treating so badly. The thing is, the vast majority of citizens would have supported you in going after Gwinnett County legally. We don’t like what Gwinnett has done either. But that’s typical government corruption. What you have done is a real betrayal of the people who have helped make you successful- your ‘valued’ customers.
I am probably going to pay you your $23.50 because I am afraid of what you will do to my financial health. I don’t trust you to do the right thing- only the greedy and vindictive thing. With your resources you can assault me with a much bigger stick of bad credit(even if it is not justified and is flat out immoral) than I can hope to defend myself from.
I spoke to Nasuti’s (BOC district 2) a few minutes ago. I had again emailed him. After I emailed the first time she called me and explained what a great guy he was and that Bill Liss had blind sided him in his interview on Channel 11 and had not told the whole story. She almost had me convinced. I emailed again yesterday and told Nasuti that after watching this whole thing unfold I felt I had been right in my assessment of him in the first place. In short, I had no intention of ever voting for him again. So the admin called me again today.
Folks, these people just don’t get it. She was very nice and as expected, supportive of her boss; but if what she was saying reflects the official stance they truly are living in another world. Somehow, it is not Gwinnett’s fault or responsibility that Waste Industries’ franchise was ended and that we are being charged this fee. It is our fault that we did read the back of our bills and understand that such a fee could be charged (even if we didn’t deactivate service or terminate service early). In granting Waste Industries their franchise it was not the responsiblity of Gwinnett lawyers to make sure that their service agreement with their customers was fair. Oh, and the $15,000 retreat was totally justified because the BOC needed to get away to make decisions where they wouldn’t be interrupted. They could have used my living room. I would have set up tables, turned off phones and not let anyone in. I would have delivered their lunches and dinners to them- after they paid for their own meals- and even set up cots if they wanted to spend the night. That’s what my friends and I do when we want to go on a retreat.
These guys need to go. We need some people with some common sense who feel a sense of duty to Gwinnett and its citizens in office.
I’ve been laying low because I get madder than is healthy when I think about the whole situation. Stormwater fee, baseball stadium, bus system, retreat, trash boondoggle. Each is just another brick in the wall, and we’ve let these people build it right in front of our eyes.
What’s the next brick going to be? Scares the hell out of me to even ponder it. People fret about Washington DC being out of control. Dang, our own county is out of control, and the ones doing it live in our county.
Mark my words, people are mad now, but in 2 years when the next election comes around, these guys will have our short term memories and busy-ness and apathy working against us. I’ve got too much work to do to micro-manage everything these BOC do, and now it’s biting me.
Folks, the iron is red hot. We have to hit it and bend it back straight. I don’t know about the other districts, but I have no trust at all for District 4 commie. He very nearly lost his last election in the primary runoff, but his good ol’ buddy Danny Porter stepped in at the last minute to save his sorry butt & help him beat his opponent. Again, stupid voters.
I have no clue as to how to get a RECALL going, but I’m sure somebody here does. We’d best step on it quick, people, if we’re to have any hope of succeding. God help us all…
“Success lives here” What a load of digested oats.
KB
I have gotten a past due notice for not paying the $23.50 from my bill. I tolld them I would gladly pay the $17.99 I was owed, but since I did not deactivate from them I was not paying the fee way over the amount I owed them. Now I get this bill. I called the 1-800 number and they said they were looking into this and yes, they were aware that this was illegal according to the Clean and Beautiful organization. He then said he would transfer me to the local company and I was disconnected!!!! Way to go Waste Industries… I;m going to wait and see how this turns out. Now I’m just plain mad. I’ve been nice so far but they can’t do this.
I am curious how well Waste Industries will be received in Gwinnett County if there is a restraining order granted? Wouldn’t it be funny if their Deactivation Fee actually caused their services to be deactivated from the county by their Valued Customers?
I am certainly taking a stand on this, but sending our bills to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful (GCB) won’t be enough. They don’t care! They would just throw them away.
Here is a little update on what is going on and what is happening since I made this post. Waste Industries lawyers responded to the complaint raised by GCB. GCB claimed that the additional deactivation fee was an unapproved rate hike. WI claimed it is not a hike but a fee. It ended up going no where.
I haven’t heard anything back from WI on my refusal to pay their fee, until yesterday. They sent me another bill. Guess what? The bill threatens that if I do not pay they might cancel my service. Hellooo! You already did.
I bet I’ll hear more on this soon. I’m planing on being a big pain in the backside to WI. I filed a complaint with the BBB today and will follow it up with a complaint to the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs. A great idea suggested by a reader who emailed me. Since they have not posted with a name, I’ll respect their privacy. Anyway the complaint is as follows:
—
Waste Industries lost their ability to service my area (Gwinnett County, GA) buy either, not bidding on, or failure to win, a contract with the County. I had absolutely no input or influence in this decision. This may possibly have been due to the provisions set forth by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. In short, their failure to secure this contract reflects their election not to continue service.
They have decided to add a $23.50 deactivation fee to my final bill. Their CEO (Jim Perry) publicly describes this fee as a demobilization fee covering the costs of closing the Gwinnett Branch. Waste Industries has never announced such a fee prior to us receiving it in our final bill. Therefore we did not have a chance to challenge or opt out. Also, it is (or was) directed only to those residence of Gwinnett County to recover lost business in this county. http://www.wasteindustries.com/News.aspx?id=7 .
When I called the local office and stated my objection to the fee, the person I spoke with took my address and agreed with me. I sent in the final bill minus the deactivation fee along with a letter stating why that fee was not paid. They are now trying to collect that fee in a subsequent bill. Since my account was in good standing, and their business losses are not related to my actions, I should not have to pay this deactivation fee. Especially since this fee is only targeted to those of us in Gwinnett County, and we did not have a chance to either agree to this or discontinue service.
—
The resolution I am currently seeking is to have them mark my account paid in full.
I lived in the Gwinnett area where this new garbage pickup. I travel 100% of the time and do not have trash pickup anymore. I heard that eventually the trash will be place on our taxes - is this optional or required?
I am surprised that we are being monopolized on trash collections…..
Louise, As things stand now, it is not optional. The county assumes that if you don’t have trash pickup you are illegally dummping your garbage. As a result you will have this fee added to your tax bill.
Folks, I finally got an actual e-mail from Nasuti (BOC district 2). He starts out by telling me that my email was one of the most churlish he had ever received in 15 years of government service. And he was offended that my attack on him was personal. I have emailed him twice and left a voice mail and if what I said and wrote was the worst he’s ever heard he is one lucky man- especially since he is a lawyer. Once again, winning friends and influencing people as they say. I guess our BOC doesn’t feel like they actually have to recognize how angry the citizens are and admit that maybe they have let us down. Are you guys emailing your commisioners? Because if what I, a little old lady, had to say was the worst Nasuti has heard, we aren’t speaking loud enough. I think I am more angry about this than I ever been about any government outrage. But like the poster above, this is just the last straw in a long line of grievances.
vote these government crooks out of office this nothing more than county government shoving down your throat THERE price and service just like the I>R>S why not the Fair tax they want power
Gwinnett citizens are just replacement free labor for the county prisoners.
I’m not a big fan of creative loafing but check this out :
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/taking_responsibility_for_recycling/Content?oid=2630
“The catch here, however, and another prime reason recycling hasn’t taken off, is the fact that, on the household consumer level, it rarely pays for