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Maplewood- Ramsey County Review I Maplewood,North St. Paul talking trash Page 1 of 2
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<br /> Maplewood, North„
<br /> • Paul talking trash
<br /> Luke Reiter
<br /> Review staff
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<br /> While some people see deciding who picks up their trash as a freedom they must protect from city government,it might just be the trash hauler they
<br /> need protection from,according to Maplewood City Council Member John Nephew.
<br /> Nephew,who participated in a panel presentation at the Ramsey County League of Local Governments meeting on June 23,said his ongoing survey of
<br /> Maplewood residents'garbage hauling statements revealed a pattern of billing practices in which companies represented low rates to the city but then
<br /> tacked on dubious surcharges for customers.
<br /> He said he found several companies charged customers an"environmental fee,"but when pressed for explanation they revealed the add-ons weren't
<br /> tied to any specific expense and the money is merely collected as a buffer for any costs they might encounter related to the environment.
<br /> "Apparently when they talk about their environmental fee they're talking about the environment of their bank vault not being green enough,"Nephew
<br /> said.
<br /> Organized trash hauling--a system in which a city contracts with one or a few sanitation companies to provide service for all residents--tends to be a
<br /> touchy subject for cities.In Maplewood,the issue was previously considered in 1996 but was abandoned under heavy pressure from residents who
<br /> preferred to choose haulers for themselves.
<br /> The city council revived the exploration--and controversy--on March 28 of this year by passing a resolution of intent to organize,which is the first step
<br /> in an arduous process laid out by state statutes.
<br /> Tradition in White Bear Lake
<br /> White Bear Lake,by contrast,has used organized trash hauling at least as far back as 1928,according to archived contracts.City Manager Mark
<br /> Sather,who also presented at the RCLLG meeting,said while he believed each city should determine for itself whether organized hauling was a good
<br /> fit,White Bear Lake has received reliable and notably low-cost service in his experience.
<br /> According to Sather,the value of organized hauling is in efficiency.Sather said other cities he's observed have three companies serving just one street,
<br /> meaning residents have to deal with the noise and traffic of garbage trucks three days a week.The triple run of what can be 40,000-pound trucks also
<br /> takes a toll on street surfaces and the environment.
<br /> "But there's always that balance of individual rights vs.the public good,or the greater good,"Sather said."And if we can have less wear and tear on our
<br /> roads,less carbon footprint,less big trucks with diesel engines going down our streets,less noise,better aesthetics--all those things are better."
<br /> One of the most frequent concerns Sather said residents have is the assurance of quality control,since they don't have the option of switching trash
<br /> haulers if they receive poor service.Sather said that issue is easily resolved:if a truck misses a pickup more than once,the city fines the hauler and
<br /> issues a rebate check to the resident.
<br /> In Maplewood,however,Nephew said the only way the current system provides for the city to censure haulers is to revoke their operating license,
<br /> which Nephew called"the nuclear option"since other customers would then have to find new haulers on their own.
<br /> White Bear Lake is also putting a new spin on an old practice:the city has adopted a volume-based rate structure with 30,60 and 90 gallon trash
<br /> containers,with the city billing below cost for the 30 gallon container and above cost for the 90 gallon to entice people to generate less waste and
<br /> recycle more.
<br /> Handling strife
<br /> North St.Paul city staff and council also encountered strong opposition when they organized hauling in 2001,but City Manager Wally Wysopal said the
<br /> city was driven to make the change in order to assist residents without the means to clean up properly and to avoid an appearance of neglect in the city.
<br /> "It's the public health,it's the public safety and the public welfare issues that really we were battling,"Wysopal said."And we were spending an
<br /> inordinate amount of time as a staff trying to get the community cleaned up--to try get people to collect that garbage and get rid of it."
<br /> Wysopal said the change has lowered costs for residents by consolidating routes so that haulers no longer have to drive entire blocks to serve only one
<br /> or two subscribing customers.
<br /> North St.Paul also added a bulk collection service,in which residents pay a small ongoing charge to cover the cost of large items,such as bed frames
<br /> or refrigerators.Wysopal the charge is often unpopular with residents until the first time they call to find out what it will cost to have a mattress or similar
<br /> large item picked up,only to find there's no additional cost.
<br /> "So they feel very good about that,"Wysopal said."They say,'Boy,that just paid for a whole year of service right there."
<br /> Maplewood residents changing minds?
<br /> After the presentations Maplewood Mayor Will Rossbach said when his city renewed the organized hauling exploration he received a deluge of a-mails
<br /> http://www.review-news.com/print.asp?ArticleID=11497&SectionID=64&SubSectionID... 07/09/2011
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