After 16 months of struggling with an aging fleet and supply chain issues, a new Golden Triangle Waste Services garbage truck hit the streets Monday morning.
Two others are due by next week, and seven more should be here by May, said Mary Gillliand, general manager for GTWS.
Gilliland said she hopes this is a turning point for the service’s garbage collection, as problems with the existing fleet have created chronic delays in residential service.
“We originally ordered the new trucks in October of 2021, and due to all of the supply chain issues … they weren’t able to build,” Gilliland said. “They finally started getting all of the components of all of our trucks in November of 2022.”
Supply chain issues not only held up the new trucks but also delayed parts for its current fleet. At one point, Gilliland said, half of GTWS’s 16 trucks were in the shop awaiting service at the same time.
“When you have a truck down and you can’t get parts for it … it’s going to affect everything,” Gilliland said. “It affects us as a business, and it affects you as a customer.
“We hope that people notice that we’re on time,” she added. “It’s even affecting our guys. They’re seeing these new trucks starting to roll in and it’s boosting their morale. I’m starting to see smiles on faces again.”
GTWS serves the rural portions of Oktibbeha, Lowndes, and Webster counties, all of which have representatives on its board — which are selected from the respective county board of supervisors. It also serves the municipalities in those three counties, excluding Starkville. It provides twice weekly garbage pickup in Columbus and once weekly elsewhere.
The waste service delays caused Oktibbeha County to reach a point of crisis in October, according to Oktibbeha County District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard, who is also a GTWS board member.
“We were glad to see that the new trucks were starting to come in,” Howard said. “We’ve been pretty handicapped over the last year or so trying to maintain garbage routes and stay on schedule and working against breakdowns.”
Howard hopes the issues will not recur due to the new trucks.
“We’re glad to see the new trucks coming in, and that the citizens worked with us through that crisis,” Howard said. “Hopefully we won’t have to face that again.”
Columbus still looking for other services?
How the new trucks impact Columbus’ search for a new residential garbage collection service remains to be seen.
In January, the council agreed to request proposals from other services in the wake of poor performance from GTWS. It also came after GTWS asked Columbus to dial back to one residential pickup per week.
GTWS’s contract with the city expires Aug. 31.
With its fleet revitalized, Gilliland said GTWS plans to once again bid to be the city’s provider.
“They put out the RFP and we are bidding on it,” Gilliland said. “We’ve been servicing the city of Columbus for roughly 25 or 26 years. And in the 18 1/2 years that I’ve been here, we’ve never had this problem.”
City officials plan to meet with representatives of services that submitted proposals at 2 p.m. today at City Hall. It is a public meeting.
Lowndes County District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders, who is one of two Lowndes representatives who sits on the GTWS board, said he does not anticipate the city switching waste service vendors, as he believes the GTWS rates are some of the lowest in the market.
GTWS charges the city $10.90 per month per pickup location, and the city charges citizens $17.50, which includes landfill fees and other costs.
“I don’t think anybody else is going to be able to do it as cheap as we can,” Sanders said. “We’re a government entity, and because of that we don’t pay taxes… or federal or state tax on fuel. If they want to go with someone else, more power to them, but it’s going to cost them a lot more money.”
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones — who has been a proponent for looking at other service options — told The Dispatch he is open to considering GTWS and other providers.
“I want to make sure we’re doing the best we can for the people. They’re paying for it,” Jones said. “Whether we keep them or another company, as long as they’re doing the best job for the city, I’m OK.”
Mayor Keith Gaskin was unavailable to comment before press time.
The Dispatch reached out to Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, who declined to comment until he was fully informed about the situation.
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