Mableton adopts Chapter 12 solid-waste ordinance, sets environmental-management fee and implementation timeline

Mableton — The Mableton City Council voted Jan. 28 to adopt a new ordinance creating Chapter 12 of the city code to govern collection, disposal and recycling of solid waste, approving several amendments requested by the city attorney and setting an implementation timetable that begins April 1, 2025.

The ordinance establishes an open-franchise model under which private trash haulers will register with the city and operate in a competitive market rather than creating a city-run service or awarding a single exclusive franchise. Council members and staff said the approach is intended to preserve small haulers while allowing resident choice.

At a public hearing and discussion spanning more than three hours, council members and staff reviewed three service models they had studied: a city-run collection department, a single exclusive contract with one hauler, and an open-franchise model. City Manager Xavier (acting city manager) and staff recommended the open-franchise model as the best fit for Mableton’s resources and policy goals.

The ordinance sets an environmental management fee (EMF) that will be collected by haulers as a percentage surcharge on service. Council approved lowering the residential EMF from an earlier 6.5% proposal to a flat 6% for residential customers. Council did not reduce the commercial EMF from 13.5% at the Jan. 28 meeting.

Mayor Michael Owens, noting the change, said, "That has already been reduced ... to a flat 6% for all residential customers." The council debated whether to lower residential and commercial rates further; Councilmember TJ Ferguson, among others, urged a lower residential fee. Brian Warren, president of the Cobb Trash Haulers Association, told the council that smaller haulers see a 5% EMF as more acceptable and said that 13.5% on commercial customers "is a good bit of money." Alan Owens, representing Waste Management, said from a commercial perspective "13% isn't bad," noting commercial accounts generate more revenue per account.

Staff and haulers discussed how revenue from the EMF might be used. City staff outlined uses including anti-litter campaigns, additional public trash receptacles, downtown beautification and a Keep Mableton Beautiful affiliate, facade-improvement grants for downtown businesses, and funding for the city’s new sustainability, waste and beautification programs. The city provided a conservative programming budget estimate of roughly $415,000 and said more robust programming could require up to about $900,000 annually depending on scope.

The ordinance includes other items the council requested: a graduated, reduced annual registration fee for haulers (with a low-tier fee as low as $115, reduced from an initial draft of $500), an annual vehicle decal reduced to $25 per vehicle, inspection and onboarding requirements, and enforcement language including violation fines and municipal-court remedies. Staff said decals and inspections are designed to help code enforcement stop unregistered haulers operating on city streets.

Council and staff clarified exceptions and enforcement for household-level compliance. Section 1231 preserves an affidavit exception for residents who share service with a neighbor; the council directed the attorney to add exceptions for residents who regularly take waste to a disposal facility and for business owners who use a commercial account to dispose of home-generated waste, provided the commercial account permits that usage and proof (dump tickets/receipts) can be shown when required. The city attorney and manager noted the practical enforcement approach: the city will not conduct routine door-to-door checks but may require proof if a code enforcement complaint arises about stockpiled or illegally disposed waste.

The ordinance also includes a provision intended to protect disabled residents: haulers operating in the city must offer non-curb (backyard/at-home) service to residents who cannot move containers to the curb; the ordinance allows haulers to require verification where appropriate while giving haulers the ability to self-exempt customers when operationally necessary.

Staff provided an implementation timeline. If council adopted the ordinance, internal administrative outreach and education to residents and haulers would run through Feb. 26, 2025; contract review and hauler onboarding would occur from Feb. 26 to March 26; the EMF assessment and other requirements would commence April 1, 2025; the first quarterly report and fees are due Aug. 15, 2025 and will include reporting and fees dating to the April 1 start date.

Councilmembers praised the public engagement and the haulers who participated in drafting and vetting the ordinance, but the vote was not unanimous. The council approved the ordinance "including the five changes requested by the city attorney"; the motion passed with one recorded nay. Councilwoman Patricia Auk cast the lone dissenting vote.

The full ordinance text and the attachment with the fee tables will be posted on the city website. City staff said they will hold outreach sessions for haulers and residents before the Feb. 26 administrative deadline to walk through the forms, reporting expectations and exemptions.

Ending: Councilmembers and staff described the ordinance as a first step that will be refined as the city implements the program and receives feedback. The city appointed a director for sustainability, waste and beautification (Emily Groth) who will oversee program development and reporting under the new code provisions.