Montgomery City Council considers trash issues

At a June 9 virtual meeting, Montgomery City Council discussed issues residents have brought up with waste services provided by Waste Management of Texas Inc, as several residents have complained about not having their trash picked up.

Public Sector Solutions Manager Terry Woodson of Waste Management of Texas said her company has seen a large increase in trash—about 30% across its service area—since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s just because people are home. They’re eating all three meals at home,” Woodson said.

Because of the large increase in volume, Woodson said drivers have to go all the way to Houston to drop off trash more often and may not be able to reach every house they need to in one day. Woodson said drivers return the next business day to pick up unclaimed trash and are now required to call in and log the time and date they pick up trash from certain addresses that have been consistently missed.

“With everything that’s happened, Waste Management has not reduced your service. We have full staff running,” Woodson said.

Council Member Tom Cronin said that even though the city contracts with Waste Management, the quality of service still reflects on the city, and residents may not know who to reach out to if they had a problem. However, Woodson said Waste Management is able to field residents’ calls.

City Administrator Richard Tramm asked if the company could share reports of problems with services with the city. Tramm also asked if the city could get a call if drivers are too far out to come back to the city.

Woodson agreed to send Tramm that information in an email; she said also that she would send guidelines for trash pickup to Montgomery residents for the newer residents in the area.