Automatic trash pickup set for April

Breaux Bridge — The much anticipated — some say dreaded — transition to automatic trash pickup will be delayed here until at least April 1, Mayor Jack Dale Delhomme told the City Council at the March 11 meeting.

Delhomme said the contract trash-hauler, Allied Waste, is also bringing garbage pickup without garbage men to Henderson, and there remains some coordination issues to work out.

Each pickup location, household or business, will receive a serial-numbered 96-gallon garbage can on wheels that is designed to be picked up and emptied with a machine by remote control from the cab of the garbage truck. Extra carts, as they are called, are available at the contractor’s cost of $65.

The carts will be emptied once a week instead of twice as it is currently done with the manned service. But the new carts hold twice as much, so trash accumulation should not be a problem, the company says.

Councilman Howard “Doc” Alexander complained that Allied Waste is currently not picking up bagged leaves as it is supposed to. It’s a problem Delhomme promises will be solved with the automated service.

“You can put your leaves right in the cart, and if you’re the type that keeps his yard up, has a lot of branches and whatnot, you can buy the extra cart,” he said.

The problem with garbage men is not only that they sometimes leave trash, especially heavy bags or cans, but that they often simply don’t show up for work, Delhomme said.

“It’s hard to keep employees, that’s why we’re going to automation,” he said.

“We’re charging the customer every month (for that service),” Alexander retorted.

Under the renegotiated contract, the monthly fee for the new service will remain the same at $18.30 for the rest of the year, unless costs to Allied Waste like fuel or landfill fees skyrocket. A rate hike in January 2009 will be tied to a producer’s cost index published by the U.S. Department of Labor.