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Georgetown council presses Republic Services after repeated missed pickups; company promises steps to improve
Summary
Republic Services managers told the Georgetown City Council they are tracking missed residential and recycling pickups and will increase driver training and leadership presence after residents and council described frequent, localized failures during winter months.
Georgetown City Council members pressed Republic Services on recurring trash-collection problems during a Feb. 24 council meeting, citing repeated missed pickups, damaged carts and loose refuse left in neighborhoods.
Council members and residents described multiple recent episodes in which trucks ran routes without collecting some containers, left scattered debris, or returned late. Todd Prey, Republic's municipal sales manager, said the company has mapped confirmed misses and will assign more direct supervision and training for drivers who are underperforming.
“The ones that were the worst are from the newest driver, and how we're gonna combat that with him is our behind-the-wheel instructor is gonna be getting back in the truck with him,” Prey said. He told council Republic has documented 781 confirmed trash misses out of about 701,000 pickups recorded in January–November 2024 (a 0.11% confirmed-miss rate) and 87 confirmed misses in more than 55,000 recycling pickups (0.16%). Prey said months with the most confirmed misses were February, March and May, and some routes had repeat complaints from the same addresses.
Council members pressed for clearer follow-up and faster service on reported misses. Councilmember Stone said he frequently fields constituent complaints about cans left split or damaged after a lift. “When we know there's something that needs to be fixed, it needs to be fixed,” he said. Councilmember Mitchell and others asked that Republic provide quicker same-day responses when pickups were missed late in the day.
Republic said it will increase managerial presence in Georgetown and meet regularly with the mayor’s office. Prey described a mixture of causes for confirmed misses: new or fill-in drivers unfamiliar with back-door stops, carts not placed at the curb in time, and route mistakes when trucks are full and drivers must return to the landfill. He said Republic will review GPS and camera evidence for confirmed misses, retrain drivers, and issue work orders to replace busted carts at no charge when damage is reported.
Residents and council members also raised concerns about loose trash falling from trucks. Republic representatives acknowledged loose-bag incidents and said some problems are amplified by colder weather (plastic carts become brittle) and by trucks that operate from the left side where drivers cannot see debris fall. Prey encouraged residents to use the Republic app to report misses and damaged carts; he said app reports create immediate work orders.
Councilmember Chris said Georgetown's size and the previous privatized service transition make high public expectations reasonable. “You are big enough to get a truck. … We expect that you're able to do that,” he said. Councilmembers asked Republic for monthly reports on confirmed misses and corrective steps; Republic agreed to provide more frequent updates and to attend future council meetings to report progress.
The council did not take a formal vote on penalties or a contract remedy at the Feb. 24 meeting. Prey asked residents and council members to submit specific video evidence or addresses for documented incidents so Republic can investigate specific drivers and trucks.
The mayor and council asked staff to continue tracking reported misses and to provide a follow-up presentation or report listing trends and the company's progress.
