Wayne council extends Priority Waste contract for one year amid resident complaints about missed pickups

The Wayne City Council on June 17 approved a one-year extension of the city’s residential refuse contract with Priority Waste, from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, at a rate of $13.22 per unit to be paid from the refuse budget.

The extension drew a lengthy presentation and question-and-answer session with Paul Ruthenberg, Priority Waste’s representative, who acknowledged service problems in May and early June and described company steps to correct them. "We replaced the lead driver coordinator... with Tommy Shuster," Ruthenberg said, adding the company has five cameras on each truck and GPS tracking to verify collections. "I'm going to continue to change and tweak until we get the product that is expected in the city of Wayne."

The council and residents pressed Ruthenberg on missed routes, cart deliveries and customer notifications. Ruthenberg said regular pickup hours are roughly 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and that a missed pickup called in the next morning should be collected by the end of that day. He also gave a Priority Waste corporate contact for complaints and said he would arrange list reports showing cart delivery and repair activity for the city to review. "We have 1 trash truck, 1 compost truck, and 1 bulk truck. So there's 3 basic routes per day," Ruthenberg said when asked about route capacity.

Why it matters: Council members and residents described missed streets and delayed cart deliveries as recurring problems that affect daily sanitation and neighborhood appearance. Council members asked for more timely reporting and greater responsiveness from Priority Waste as a condition of the extension.

Details of the approved motion: The council voted to approve a one-year extension with Priority Waste at $13.22 per unit (funded from the refuse budget). The motion to approve was moved on the record; the council later voted by voice to carry the motion. Council members and staff said the extension includes additional reporting and accountability conditions negotiated by city administration.

What Priority Waste said it will change: Ruthenberg said the company replaced its lead driver coordinator (LDC) for Wayne, increased reporting to the city, and is testing automated event-notification features (text/email/app) and an AI-enhanced operations dashboard at corporate. He also acknowledged cart inventory and repair challenges and pledged improved delivery scheduling and a weekly report of cart repairs and deliveries to city staff.

Public contact and follow-up: Ruthenberg provided his contact numbers on the record ((313) 215-1673, cell; corporate (586) 228-1200) and said residents should first contact Priority Waste; if issues are unresolved they may contact the City Department of Public Works, which will escalate to company leadership.

Council direction and next steps: Council asked administration to ensure the contract extension's added reporting and service conditions are enforced, to post Priority Waste contact information on the city's website, and to receive periodic updates from DPW about missed streets and cart-delivery status. The council and Priority Waste agreed to pursue technology-based resident notifications and to monitor service performance over the extension term.

Ending: The council approved the extension by voice vote after the public discussion. City staff said they will continue to bring performance metrics back to council if service problems persist.