Penalties coming to Priority Waste in Clinton Township if trash collector fails to retrieve rubbish
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - The problem stinks for customers of a new trash pickup company - and it's not getting any better for residents of Clinton Township.
Now, the supervisor says it will begin penalizing Priority Waste each time the company fails to collect any bags of garbage, recycling, and yard waste.
"Any call that is not responded to within 24 hours will be fined $50 and we will subtract that from the bill that we pay at the end of every month," said supervisor Bob Cannon.
The longtime leader of the township says the issues have even spilled into his own neighborhood. With the Department of Public Works also getting calls from upset residents, Cannon is elevating the urgency of fixing the problem.
The fines will begin next week if the issues still aren't sorted out.
"Now if somebody has three binds out - one for recycling, one for yard waste, and one for regular garbage and all three don't get picked up - that's $150 per day that's going to be subtracted from what we as a township pay to the rubbish company," said Cannon.
Clinton Township pays $300,000 every month for their trash service. Once conducted by GFL before Priority Waste took over their routes, there's been myriad issues around metro Detroit.
Part of the problem is the fleet of dilapidated trucks the new owners took over.
"We believe that our residents deserve us to stand up and say ‘okay, it’s enough. We've had enough,'" said Cannon.
The company says they're on it, promising to have any outstanding trash pickups over the next five days.
"The proper trucks are here and they've been fixed," said Matt Allen, the spokesperson for Priority Waste. "They've been retrofitted with the cameras and computer technology and they're going to be going out into the community over the next five days to get everything done in sequence."
Allen doesn't anticipate any fines will be handed out.
"We've made unprecedented steps and we're going to continue to work at that very diligently and deliberately until we get it done," he said.
That includes ordering new trucks.
"We're preparing in the near-term and in the long-term to address the needs of 1.1 million people every week," he said.
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