Switching from regularly scheduled leaf-and-limb pickup to an on-demand service would keep the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department from falling behind after major storms without adding to the budget, officials told ACC commissioners at a work session last week.
Currently Athens is divided into six zones, with leaf-and-limb pickup in each zone once every six weeks. Solid Waste could move to on-demand service with or without the zones, ending the need to drive down each street in the zone looking for piles. The department also wants to allow residents to combine piles and to use vacant lots for community piles. These changes would make pickup more efficient, officials said.
“We have some people that have four or five sticks they put out,” Route Supervisor Nancy Flowers said. “It’s a lot of work for trucks to pick up those four or five sticks. It would be better for us if 10 houses got together.”
Solid Waste Director Suki Janssen pointed to Indale Street, near Hancock Avenue, where residents already share piles because many houses don’t have front yards. That also happens in the Buena Vista neighborhood where Commissioner Melissa Link lives.
“It’s already happening,” Link said. “My husband and I invite our neighbors to throw stuff on our pile because they have no front yards.”
But Link said she does not support moving away from regularly scheduled pickup. “I like the system as it is,” she said. “I just wonder, do we need more staff? Do we need more trucks? What is it that’s causing the delays and falling behind?”
Storms are one reason, Janssen said. For example, Hurricane Helene put leaf-and-limb pickup about two months behind. Pay is another—the county pays drivers with a Class A commercial license a little under $20 an hour when the average pay in Georgia is $30, and there is a stigma attached to working for Solid Waste.
“I would love to see a proposal where we can compensate those haulers, get the extra trucks we need and keep a regular schedule that’s equitable across the board instead of asking families to go the extra mile by making calls,” Link said.
Like Link, Commissioner Carol Myers doubted whether people would remember to call or use an online portal to request a pickup, leading to debris sitting on the curb indefinitely. And Commissioner Allison Wright worried that people who do a lot of yard work would abuse the system and request a pickup every week. Flowers said those people would be charged after the first eight pickups each year, adding that if residents could request pickups, “we won’t have people putting piles out and waiting for weeks.”
If the commission approves on-demand service, Janssen said, she would prefer to keep the zones. “People are acutely aware [of zones and schedules], the heavy users,” she said. “… People are really attuned to what area they’re in.”The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal in March.
Like what you just read? Support Flagpole by making a donation today. Every dollar you give helps fund our ongoing mission to provide Athens with quality, independent journalism.