Bright green cans are sprouting all along curbsides in Columbus, heralding changes to the way the city handles its garbage.
A new contract with Golden Triangle Waste Services kicked in on Sept. 1, and those blazingly bright cans are only the most obvious difference.
New pricing
The fee customers pay has gone up. In July Columbus City Council approved the new contract, which included a $3.45 increase for customers.
Under the old contract, customers paid $17.50 per month for twice-a-week pickup. That amount included the $10.70 per household GTWS charged the city, plus a $7 fee added by the city to cover billing costs, landfill fees and other soft costs.
GTWS now charges the city $13.95 per household per month. The city’s $7 fee has remained unchanged, meaning customers now pay a total of $20.95 per month for one pickup and a city-provided bin.
The city isn’t the only entity seeing an increased cost. Friday the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors approved its first garbage rate increase since 2008. Rates in the county will go up from $12 per household per month to $15.
County customers get trash pickup once per week.
Pickup moves to once per week
While Columbus customers used to get their trash picked up twice a week – on either Monday and Thursday or on Tuesday and Friday – pickup shifted to once weekly as of Sept. 4.
Residents who formerly had Monday/Thursday service now get picked up Monday, and the Tuesday/Friday customers get picked up Tuesday, according to a Frequently Asked Questions document prepared by the city of Columbus.
If trash is not picked up on the assigned day, it will be picked up the next day, according to the FAQ.
Taking cans to the street (and cleaning them up)
On their pickup days, residents should have their trash cans at the curb by 7 a.m., Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett told The Dispatch.
“We are encouraging everyone to have the cans back off the street as soon as possible,” Garrett said. “We would like them to be (off the street) no later than 7 p.m. on the day they’re picked up.”
Have you gotten your can?
Can distribution should have been complete by Sept. 15, Garrett said, but there are some lingering discrepancies that are still being worked out. Columbus Light and Water – which handles the billing for garbage pickup – and GTWS are working to get those resolved.
“Anyone who hasn’t received their can by Monday should call Golden Triangle Waste Service at (662) 327-6660,” Garrett said.
Do you have to use the new green cans?
Not everyone is excited about the new cans, and skeptics can keep using their old, personal cans if they like, Garrett said. Those sticking with their old cans should be careful, though.
“Please do not put your own can inside the green can,” Garrett said. “The GTWS people don’t know that it’s not trash, and they will throw it away.”
Garrett said although the city likes the “uniformity” of the green GTWS cans, there are no size or color requirements for personal garbage cans. Anyone who prefers to use their own can may call GTWS to have the city-provided can picked up.
Stolen or damaged cans
If cans are stolen or damaged, citizens should contact GTWS, Garrett said.
“If the can is stolen, report it to (GTWS) and to the police,” Garrett said. “If it’s damaged, and it’s something you did, they will replace it once. They will not replace multiple cans if you ran over it or if it’s something else you’re doing.”
Cans too big?
If the cans are too heavy for individuals to move, GTWS offers “back door” service, Garrett said.
“They will require a letter stating your disability from your physician,” Garrett said. “They would also ask that the person live alone, with nobody else to help them. If it’s an elderly couple and they don’t have someone else to do it, they will come and do it, too.”
GTWS will still pick up bags of trash left on the curb, Garrett said.
“They will pick up bags,” Garrett said. “We would prefer people use cans, because animals can rip the bags open, but bags will still be picked up.”
Lawn rubbish
Beginning in November and lasting until April, trucks will pick up as many as eight bags of leaves, Garrett said. Leaves must be bagged and the bags must be tied closed.
GTWS will not pick up furniture, appliances, construction waste or tree limbs and other vegetative waste created by contractors, according to the city’s FAQ.
Golden Triangle Waste Services General Manager Mary Ann Gilliland did not return Dispatch phone calls seeking comment by press time.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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