Here is the update on The New Gwinnett Trash Plan
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.
{ 253 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
“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.
← Previous Comments