Oakland keeps once‑weekly trash service for now as residents raise maggot and fly concerns

The Town of Oakland will keep its current once‑weekly residential trash collection service for the next year while staff and the contractor pursue operational changes to reduce maggots, flies and other heat‑related problems, Mayor Shane Taylor said at the Sept. meeting.

The decision follows a public presentation by Waste Pro representatives and an extended public comment period in which multiple residents described maggot and fly infestations in their carts during the summer heat and asked for either twice‑weekly pickup or other remedies.

Waste Pro Government Affairs Director Flatlaw said the town’s recycling is being delivered to a sorting facility and that Oakland’s recycling stream is “very, very clean.” Regina Corolla, Waste Pro division manager, told residents: “It is getting recycled.” She also explained that processing charges for recycling vary and have increased, saying costs can range “from $95 a ton to $175 a ton,” and that those market pressures helped drive the once‑weekly bid the town accepted earlier this year.

Residents urged several operational fixes. Regina Corolla recommended home measures — bagging and tying trash, closing lids, and wiping carts with bleach or insect spray after service — and offered vendor remedies such as cart replacement if a lid does not nest properly. A resident suggested mothballs or vinegar spray as seasonal mitigations; Corolla said she would research additional options.

Town staff and Waste Pro described remediation steps they will pursue: exchanging warped lids or carts that do not seal, offering guidance to residents on cleaning carts, and having the hauler explore internal sorting and baling plans to improve recycling processing in coming months. Waste Pro told the commission the company recently purchased a recycling firm and “in the next nine months” expects to operate its own sorting line and handle baling and sales directly.

Mayor Shane Taylor summarized the commission’s direction: “What we’d like to do is continue how we have the currently set up right now. Let’s go through that year period … and if it continues, then we can certainly go back and reevaluate.” The commission did not adopt a formal ordinance or vote to change service frequency at the meeting.

Town staff advised residents that the fastest way to report service problems is to contact Waste Pro directly; staff will escalate issues when necessary. Corolla estimated the municipal cost of returning to twice‑weekly service would raise household charges by roughly $10–$14 per month depending on plan specifics, and she cautioned that the town’s current contract change occurred in part because recycling and fuel costs surged after the COVID period.

The commission and staff said they will monitor service through the remainder of the summer and fall, document service complaints, and consider a return to twice‑weekly pickup only if problems persist that cannot be resolved through the operational fixes discussed.

Residents who raised concerns were told that Waste Pro would replace carts with lids that do not seal and that residents should report service issues directly to the hauler for the fastest response.

Ending: The commission’s approach keeps the current contract in place while directing staff and the hauler to pursue both individual remedies for affected households and systemic changes to reduce contamination and heat‑related decomposition. If problems continue, the commission said it will revisit frequency and cost tradeoffs at a future meeting.