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Staff reports Spring Water drop-off closed early after hauler missed pickup, solid-waste budget on track
Summary
A highway/solid-waste staff member told the Waushara County highway committee the Spring Water drop-off site closed early after Waste Management failed to pick up containers; staff diverted residents to other sites. The committee was told the solid-waste budget is roughly on track at $684,170 spent (51.61%).
The Waushara County Highway Committee on July 7 heard that the Spring Water solid-waste drop-off site closed early the previous day after the county's contracted hauler missed a scheduled pickup, forcing staff to divert residents to other collection sites.
A staff member told the committee the county had spent $684,170 on solid-waste operations, about 51.61% of the budget as of July 7, and said the figure is roughly on target "with the extra week in there." The same staff member reported that Waste Management did not pick up cans at the Spring Water site, and "everything was completely full, so we had to divert people from Spring Water to some of the other ones." The committee recorded no formal sanctions but asked follow-up questions.
Why it matters: Overflowing containers can create service and public-health problems and shift volume to other sites, increasing operational strain. Committee members said the Sackville site and others were also full that day, and recyclables were affected.
County staff told the committee the missed pickup stemmed from a staffing change at the hauler: the employee who had been handling the route recently received a promotion, the new person apparently misinterpreted a ticket as closed rather than delayed, and the hauler did not reissue tickets to resume the route. The staff member said the hauler "assured us it wouldn't happen again." The committee did not record a formal follow-up directive in the transcript; members urged improved coordination with the contractor.
Committee members and staff traded questions about volume and holiday timing; one committee member said closing the site on Saturday for the Fourth of July likely contributed to higher volume the following day. The committee did not take a formal vote on the issue during the meeting.
The committee also discussed related operational impacts: overflowing containers included recyclables at multiple sites, increasing the workload on county crews and contractors. Staff said they received a small number of citizen comments and would continue monitoring collection performance.
Next steps: Staff said they would continue to monitor the contractor’s performance; the hauler promised corrective action. The committee did not set a public hearing or formal enforcement action during this meeting.
