1999-07-28 Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Norma Essex 7333 Old Mill Rd Centerville MN 55038 nessex @maroon.tc.umn.edu July 14, 1999 TO: Centerville City Council FROM: Norma Essex On July 9, we put our recycling out at the curb. With the contents was a shopping bag of shredded paper. It was a windy day. The recycling had been at the curb all morning without tipping or blowing away. We left just before pickup and when we returned, there was shredded paper all over the front yard and in the shrubbery. We found the paper bag in our back yard. In the road were two large pieces of cardboard from our neighbors recycling. Newspapers were blowing in yards and down the street. I don't know whose recycling the newspapers came from. You can't convince me they weren't away of this. I called Waste Management to have someone come and pick up the mess. After talking to several people, I was referred to customers service. The woman said "Probably by the time someone came out, the paper would have blown away. Besides, they are out of the area by now." I assured her the paper was not blowing away and that it was evident the bag was tipped upside down in the air when emptied and that's when the wind took it. The paper remained in the yard until we Sited the next day. She commented that it was a windy day and that couldn't be helped. These people had picked up all morning and knew how windy it was. Anyone with any sense would know that precaution was in order. On Monday, the paper was still in our yard. We took care of some of it when the lawn was mdKed but the shrubbery was still full of the paper. By contracting with only one hauler, a home owner's rights to choose a hauler is taken away. And the hauler knows this. I would like to know why they think they aren't responsible for doing things like this. As long as they have the protection of the employer, what incentive is there for them to stop being so careless? In Roseville, we had a choice of about six haulers and were given the charges of each so we could choose who we wanted to deal with. If we weren't satisfied with the one we selected, we could change. All haulers picked up on the same day so there wasn't trash containers out at the curb every day of the week. When we pay for the service, we should have a choice. I hope you review your guidelines when choosing haulers the next time for the community.