An Open Letter To Waste Connections (Scott Waste)

Darren Doyle, Founder, Director:
There are a number of reasons that the Edmonson Voice is the leading source for local news and information in our county; one of those reasons is that we concentrate heavily on just local information, and we do our best to keep our opinions out of our platform.

With that being said, my office receives multiple calls and messages on a regular basis from local residents that complain about two major issues: internet service and the trash pickup service we are forced to use, provided by Waste Connections (also still known to some as Scott Waste).

This past Monday at an Edmonson County Fiscal Court meeting, Judge Executive Wil Cannon summarized the many complaints his office had received over the last few months that were directed at Waste Connections. Also, a few residents in attendance brought up additional issues. Mr. Pete Reckard, a rep for Waste Connections, gave several excuses and a few apologies as responses to those issues.

As a response to those many complaints that we also receive, and from my own experience as a Waste Connections "customer" and tax payer, I'd like to write this open letter to Waste Connections, the same as anyone else might submit a letter to the editor. It seems like I never get to share my opinion publicly, so here it is, in open letter form.

Dear Waste Connections,
This is an open letter to you to express my dissatisfaction in your trash pickup service. In the above introduction to this letter, you'll notice that I used the word "customer" in quotation marks. That is because I am forced to use your services as a result of Edmonson County being part of the Kentucky Waste Management Plan, which was decided by our Fiscal Court. I understand why our county participates in the plan and I used to support it. Now I do not, and I'd like to explain why.

I have three major issues with having Waste Connections as my trash provider. These are issues that have been ongoing since 2008; while they have been better and manageable at times, Edmonson County residents are paying for services from your company that we are not receiving, and they are still unresolved.

The first is, we pay you for weekly pickup. At $69.20 per quarter, that equals to be $23.06 per month, or roughly $5.67 per week. Our regular pickup day at my house is on Thursday, and there have been many, many Thursdays that we were missed. Not once have you offered to credit my bill for that week. When missed, it was a week that we did not receive your service, yet you were paid the full amount. If it was picked up Friday, Saturday, or any day after that, it was not picked up "weekly." I am not getting what I'm purchasing, and sadly, I have no other choice or option.

I've called you about this issue several times and each time I'm told "we don't give credits for missed days because we'll get whatever trash you have next week--we're still picking up the same trash and that's what you're paying for." Wrong. I pay for weekly pickup, as required by county ordinance. If you don't pick up my trash within a week from the time it was last picked up, you have just taken my money without providing me the service. It's wrong and our county deserves better.

I live on a private road and have to take my trash can about a 100 yards to your pick up point. You tell me to either have the trash at that point on the night before, or by 5AM the next morning. I normally place it there the night before. If it's not picked up the next day, my trash can (which is always full, usually overflowing, from having a household of 4 and a dog) sits as a large smelly target for the area's stray dogs, cats, opossums, raccoons, and who knows what. When those critters get into the trash, it's now another problem for me to clean that up. This may seem trivial to some, but it goes back to the point that I, and many others, are not getting the service for which we pay.

The second issue is  your communication.  It's non-existent. Why would you not contact the owner of the county's number one source of information to let people know that you have a mobile app? When you mentioned this at Monday's meeting, it was the first I'd ever heard of it. I haven't yet downloaded it, but our office has already received complaints that it is ineffective, as the communication comes too late. We don't need to know on Friday that our Thursday trash pick up is late. We need to know that information on the night before, or by 5AM, the same as you instruct us to have our trash ready for pickup.

The third issue is not with Waste Connections, it's with our fiscal court: our magistrates and Judge Executive's Office. I am including number three in this open letter because you, Waste Connections, have an obligation to uphold your end of the agreement with the county, and I just want you to see that our county can also do better, in my opinion.

Since you (the fiscal court) have acted on the taxpayer's behalf by allowing Waste Connections to be our sole provider, it should be your job to enforce that Waste Connections provides the service for which we are forced to pay. People in this county no longer want to hear how many dumpsters were provided for the countywide cleanup. They no longer want to hear about how many tires were picked up, and they certainly don't want to hear "well, they do a pretty good job." While all those things are good and obviously utilized, people have had it. It's also been pointed out that Waste Connections donates to the annual Freedom Fest fireworks show. That's well and good, but there are others who are willing to help pay for a fireworks show (my business included), but there's only one option as to who picks up our trash. Imagine going to the barber, prepaying for a haircut only to have your barber say "sorry, our clippers are down, but we donated to your favorite charity." We're tired of having our trash missed, our cans turned over, our cans placed where they block our driveways, sometimes rude customer service reps, (to be fair, not all of them), and most of all, paying for a service that we don't receive. I can't fire Waste Connections, but I have a vote. And I ask you to either fire Waste Connections when it comes time to renew that contract, or hold them accountable for their actions if you sign with them again. I have already voiced my concerns to my magistrate. I am no longer in favor of the KY Waste Management Program if it means getting the wrong end of the deal at my own home.

You (Waste Connections) gave several excuses at Monday's meeting as to why your service has been below expectations, specifically since Christmas. You noted labor shortages, supply chain issues, weather, and some other problems. We understand those things. Reasonable people understand those issues, and there are more reasonable folks in our county than not. What we don't understand is this: Why aren't you making up for it? Offer your "customers" a credit for every 7-day pick up period that you miss our trash. It's simple. We are paying you the same amount for bad (worse) service, and again, it's not fair because we don't have a choice. Were you a day late? Offer a $5.67 credit. That at least lets people know you may actually care.

I'm a business owner and I know what it means to provide a service to those that expect it. If I don't, my advertisers are not happy and it will hurt our revenue. If, and when we make mistakes (because no one is perfect), it's our priority to try to make it right. I have to sacrifice something in order to make good on what we offer. If I don't, our readers have the choice of going elsewhere to find information. It doesn't appear that you're doing anything to make it right, other than giving some excuses and some very mild apologies. What hurts the worst is that we, the residents of Edmonson County, have no choice to go elsewhere, and you obviously know this.

Mr. Reckard said at Monday's meeting that they employ residents of Edmonson County. This letter is not specifically directed at them or any other driver. I'm sure they are working as hard as they can to keep the schedule on track. It would seem the most common problems we see are not as a result from drivers or riders. While others may have had issues with the drivers, I have not.

I hope that you reconsider how you treat your "customers." Start offering bill credits. Don't tell us how you donate to a fireworks show. Start giving back to the individuals that are paying for your full services and not receiving them. There are many of us.

Sincerely,
Darren Doyle,
Edmonson County Taxpayer