Macon commissioners at odds over who should pick up garbage, yard waste, recycling

A proposed change in how garbage, recycling and yard debris would be picked up put some Macon-Bibb County officials at odds Tuesday.

More time will be spent next week discussing the contract between the county and Advanced Disposal after the measure was sent back to committee Tuesday. Some commissioners said they dispute whether the changes would resolve issues with pick up, primarily with yard debris sitting out for long periods of time in some neighborhoods.

The new plan called for Advanced to focus on garbage and recycling collection. The county’s Solid Waste Department would no longer pick up recyclables and instead collect all yard debris and bulkier items like mattresses.

Under the current plan, Advanced picks up the first two cubic yards of yard debris per household while the county collects anything over that amount.

Commissioner Valerie Wynn said she believes that turning over more control to Advanced would provide the resources needed for waste collections.

“We have a huge problem with yard debris all over Macon-Bibb County,” Wynn said. “My problem is this (proposed contract) doesn’t solve the problem.”

Some county officials said the changes should clear up some of the confusion surrounding yard waste collection.

Mayor Robert Reichert warned against “kicking the can down the road” by not approving the updated contract Tuesday.

Commissioner Virgil Watkins said the changes are “the best way and most cost efficient way” to handle solid waste collection.

According to Macon-Bibb, the number of reports received by customer service or online about yard debris have increased from an average of 100-150 to about 200 reports per week. There also are about 400 calls a week coming into Solid Waste regarding garbage and yard debris pickup.

The updated contract would give Advanced an extra 59-cents for each of the 50,500 units in the county.

To handle the workload, Macon-Bibb would hire five new employees and spend roughly $50,000 to repair trucks. For the long-term, the county would lease or buy new trucks to replace an aging fleet.