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Waste Management seeks contract extension and permission for 6:00 a.m. pickup; council weighs noise, ordinance change
Summary
City Manager Danny Roberts presented a proposed five-year extension with Waste Management that includes a company request to begin residential pickup at 6:00 a.m. to add routes without raising rates; Waste Management staff say an earlier start would ease afternoon traffic delays, while residents and council members raised noise and enforcement concerns.
City Manager Danny Roberts told the council the city has received a five-year contract extension request from Waste Management — the second renewal since the city’s 2015 agreement — and that the company has asked to begin residential collection at 6:00 a.m. as part of a plan to add a route without adding trucks or raising residential rates for two years.
Walt Ritter, public sector manager for Waste Management and a Loganville resident, said the company’s crews could pick up roughly 100 homes between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m., reducing afternoon congestion for collection vehicles and helping the company avoid adding equipment. "If we get the opportunity to start at 6:00, all that's going to do is allow us to add a route without adding any more trucks or any more expenses," Ritter said.
Several council members and residents pushed back on the proposed start time, citing noise and earlier-than-authorized pickups. One resident said trucks had begun collection before the current 7:00 a.m. ordinance on multiple occasions, waking homeowners. Paul (city attorney) noted that changing the ordinance to permit a 6:00 a.m. start would require rewriting the noise and hours provisions and could create question about whether carve-outs (for trash trucks but not construction) would be needed. He said staff could draft a narrowly tailored amendment to balance service needs and noise concerns.
Roberts said the company has proposed the earlier start to keep monthly residential charges flat (he cited typical bills near $19.60) and that staff would place the contract on the council’s Thursday agenda for action; council members agreed the item could appear on consent or be considered separately. Staff also clarified that the city’s backdoor service for disabled residents — often described as "senior" service in public discussion — remains in effect but requires a physician’s form filed with the sanitation clerk, Kayla.
If the council wants the 6:00 a.m. start, the city attorney warned that modifying the ordinance could take two months and that enforcement of noise rules can be difficult. The council did not take final action at this meeting; Roberts said he would be absent Thursday and staff would return the item for a vote at the next session.
