County fed up with trash pickup problems
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, frustrated with repeated or late trash pickups by American Disposal Services, said last week it will look into taking legal action against the company if the situation doesn’t improve soon.
Braddock District Supervisor John Cook (R) and Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith (D) co-sponsored a May 7 board matter on the trash problem, which by all accounts has worsened in the last few weeks. Cook called the chronic missed pickups “a significant health, safety, and community enjoyment problem” for the county.
“Trash is left on street corners, or in overflowing HOA dumpster,” Cook said in the board matter, which can be read in full here. “This open trash attracts rats and other vermin, it smells, and is ugly. The people of Fairfax County deserve better.”
About 90 percent of residents — including the majority of those in Lee District — are serviced by private trash pickup. The rest, including much of Mount Vernon District, have their waste picked up by the county.
American, the primary company contracted for the private pickups, has blamed the recent service issues on a staffing shortage, Cook said. The county’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services has been working with American to mitigate the problem, and Cook said county staff has gone “above and beyond the call of duty to help American.”
Cook said the county will continue to work with American on the issue, but on May 21 the Board of Supervisors will have a closed door meeting to discuss where the problems stands. If American is still failing to make pickups, Cook said the county will take legal action against the company.
“[The May 21 briefing] should include an analysis of all applicable consumer protection statutes, potential claims of fraud, or other legal issues potentially arising out of American’s failure to meet its commitments to our residents, and any options for the county to seek legal remedies,” Cook said. [T]his is American’s problem, and we expect the company to solve it in the next two weeks, or else the County will be prepared to take whatever legal action may be available. “
Residents, meanwhile, have taken to Nextdoor.com and Facebook to vent their frustrations, and many have indicated they have switched or are planning to switch to new companies for their pickups. Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay said he’s been hearing this from residents as well, but noted that the switching of companies has led to other consequences.
“So in some neighborhoods now they have different vendors coming in on the same street every day of the week tearing up the roads,” McKay said, noting a single street could have 5-6 different companies picking up trash or recycling. “This is one of the real bad environmental and infrastructure components [of this problem].”
I really like American Disposal. I have only experienced one week delay for Wednesday garden pick up. I think people are over reacting. I have seen AAA and Republican miss picking ups of my neighbors repeatedly.
They illegally come and empty dumpsters in the condos across the street in the middle of the night, when the law prohibits them from making such noise before 6am.
AAA used to be a lot slicker with that. Instead of always hitting the exact same neighborhood before 6 AM every pick-up day, they would at least rotate it so that the same people were not always being woken to their noise at 5:30 in the morning.
I don’t know if that was a “courtesy,” or simply a smart way to avoid getting a ticket. I mean, if they hit the same street every Tuesday between 5:15 and 6 AM, people would call and complain after the third or fourth time and the cops would have a pre-determined time and date the following week to sit and wait for them in order to shower them with citations. Think about all the equipment violations and what-not that a cop would be able to tack onto any noise ordinance violations.
Hmm. You watch other trash services go by – and how often – as compared to American Disposal? Ask anybody in my neighborhood – American stopped Friday pick-ups (even though contract specifies 2x/week pickup) and Wednesday yard debris can go weeks at worse – on Saturday’s at best.
I have American live on Heming ave in North Springfield.. In the last 2 months I have been picked up 3 times. As I speak I have trash sitting out front now since last Friday when they missed. They haven’t been there at all last week (Tuesday or Friday) and this happens weekly. I’m not over reacting and glad you like them and get good service
They have delayed or outright cancelled my trash, recycling, and yard waste pickups at least once a week for the last 6 weeks. They also just unilaterally informed us that they are taking our community from 2 pick-ups a week to 1, despite our existing contract saying otherwise.
I’m glad you haven’t had as many issues, but please don’t tell me I’m over reacting.
With twice weekly pickup it only takes 3 different trash contracts on a street to cause residents to have to suffer noisy garbage trucks every weekday morning.
I know Republicans sold us on this whole “government bad” nonsense so they could privatize services that local government used to provide in order to privatize those tax dollars for shareholder dividends and profits, but maybe its time we re-think that silly notion that “government is the problem.”
The private sector has the same problems only at higher costs (since Government doesn’t have to make a profit and pay dividends to shareholders, the dividends are in our quality of life.)
If u think private trash service is bad, wait until the govt provides it with no competition or oversight from..well, govt. Further, profit is not the main source of cost. Remember when long distance phone service cost 50 cents a minute under a govt regulated monopoly? Deregulation brought 10 cent, then 5, then free long distance. Inefficiency, lack of competition, and lack of innovation by govt drive costs far more than profit.
Scott, perhaps instead of parroting what you hear on Fox News and right wing websites, maybe ask people who live in Fairfax County who receive trash pickup from the county as part of paying their taxes. You just sound foolish.
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/who-picks-my-trash
The people who get County pickup are very happy with it. You’re simply repeating the lies told by people who have a vested interest and shares in privatization corporations. Do you work for Booz Allen Hamilton, by chance?
and as far as deregulation and privatizing long distance — the costs went down from deregulation, not privatization. Privatization created a disaster.
Two different things that are often confused or intentionally conflated to support further enriching of shareholders using taxpayer money.
The 50 cents a minute long distance charges were the result of government rules requiring those fees, not the lack of competition. As part of the government-supported monopoly arrangement, the telco agreed to allow the government to set prices. So of course to prove that the costs were too high in order to privatize, Republicans made the costs too high.
There have been mergers or acquisitions in the local waste hauling industry. Since late 2017, and early 2019, my HOA’s waste hauling contract has transferred three times. I believe AAA was acquired by Republic. Waste Management acquired some local contracts which were, in turn, acquired by Bates Trucking.
The solution is as simple as changing carriers. If the county gets involved, they should do so on the country contracts.
At least 10% of Fairfax County residents receive county trash service as a function of paying their taxes. It used to be that way for the entire county, before hyper-development began in the 1970s. The only reason it was ever privatized was so that some good old boys could operate a for-profit trash service. I know this because I used to party with one of the sons of the founder of AAA in the late 80s and early 90s. Same reason the County has a “contract” with Henry’s wrecker service to tow and impound cars while many municipalities operate their own towing and impound lots. It was a gimme to the owner of Henry’s. A way for a crony to make a lot of money.
On the day to pick up recyclables, the truck drove right past our house without stopping. I called the company and was assured that they would either pick of that day or the next. They did not. Very frustrating. Love you
American drives down my quiet street going what seems like 50 mph. Maybe they miss pickups because they can’t stop in time.
I called 8 times to pick up my home trashes(2 container boxes) on the corner in my house, however, last one month they did not pick up them. They always “yes” but did nothing until this morning(5/32/19) we paid them.
Help, anyone, please? Jenny 15105 Braddock Road Centreville, VA 20120