Oct. 28 – MORGANTOWN – In a recent presentation to Morgantown City Council, Republic Services General Manager Tom Beary said the waste and recycling provider has a series of initiatives underway that will be the most significant changes. most spectacular of the company’s more than 20 years of activity. operation in Morgantown.
The comments come as the city seeks to finalize another multi-year exclusive contract with the national carrier.
Beary acknowledged that there are areas, particularly in terms of communication, where the company needs to improve.
That, he said, will be the focus of a dedicated webpage run from the local office, due to launch in February.
“People will be able to look up their address and give them a function that will show them what day their service will be; better education and communication around holiday delays or weather delays,” he said, explaining that the site will be used to schedule special pickups. ups and also handle general service issues and questions.
“There’s a big focus on communication,” Beary said. “Which has always been a challenge, especially over the past few years, to make it clear where our problems lie if there are any and where we need to spend our time.”
The company also plans to launch regular recycling drop-off events at the Morgantown Industrial Park Transfer Station.
While monthly or quarterly deposits will be open to all city residents, the intent is to give people living in multi-unit housing complexes a way to participate in the city’s single-stream recycling efforts.
“We can’t just put trash cans on the bottom of a skyscraper and expect everyone to understand how to handle contamination the right way, which has always been a big challenge,” he said. he stated, explaining that Morgantown has one of the lowest municipal contamination rates. in the area through city efforts like Recycle Right Morgantown.
Finally, Republic intends to provide every residential customer with a 96-gallon trash cart simply as a way to clean up the streets. According to Beary, average waste generation has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other initiatives include a countywide rerouting project to balance routes throughout the week to avoid missed service on Fridays, which, at times, extends into the following week.
He said the company is responding to missed Friday pickups by sending trucks to the area on Saturday or, at the latest, Monday.
Councilman Brian Butcher said part of Eastern Avenue is one such area with a Friday pickup that is routinely missed.
The Friday pickup issue has been an issue raised by Mayor Jenny Selin for years.
“The service is better than before,” she told Beary. “But it’s not quite there.”