Jefferson County residents are scrambling to find a trash pickup service after their provider announced it will cease operations at the end of this week.
Waste Management of Missouri sent a letter July 28 announcing it will discontinue service for some clients who live in unincorporated Arnold and Fenton because of “limited route density” in the affected neighborhoods. The letter said service will end the week of Aug. 30.
Lisa Disbrow, a Waste Management spokeswoman, said she believes the trash pickup service is being discontinued for a few hundred residents in unincorporated Jefferson County.
She said the company decided to end trash pickup in certain neighborhoods because they required specialized equipment the company will no longer maintain.
“These communities do not allow for our standard-sized trucks to service this area,” Disbrow said. “We are required to use basically a modified pickup. With those requirements in place, we told them we would not be servicing them going forward.”
Matt Fogerty, who lives on Scenic Drive just north of the city of Arnold, said he had been a Waste Management client since 1992. He said he struggled to find a provider after receiving the notice from Waste Management but was able to be added to a route run by American Eagle Waste in St. Louis.
“When I first called American Eagle Waste, they told me they were not taking on any more clients,” said Fogerty, 59. “I called American Eagle Waste again, and they accepted me. But with Waste Management pulling out, there are going to be a lot of people without trash service.”
Disbrow said for the most part, homeowners associations have created the rules that prohibit Waste Management from using its standard trucks in their neighborhoods.
“These are customers who either by their own requirement or through homeowners associations do not allow for our standard-sized equipment to service them,” she said. “If they want to bring their trash to the curb and allow us to use our standard equipment to service them, we would be happy to continue to service them. It is our understanding that would not be allowed, so we had to make that difficult decision.”
Fogerty said he does not believe Waste Management uses a specialized truck to pick up his trash.
“What they told me on the phone is they had to cut it because they don’t have the drivers,” Fogerty said. “The full-sized truck has been coming up here forever.”
Bryan Barcom, the owner of American Eagle Waste, said his company has stopped adding most new clients because it does not have enough trucks or employees to service more routes.
“If I picked up everybody that Waste Management canceled, which is about 3,000, I would need three or four trucks,” he said. “We are able to do what we do now without missing anybody or not picking up. If I added more, we would be overwhelmed with customers.”
Barcom said American Eagle Waste is considering offering residents affected by Waste Management’s decision to cease collection in certain areas an alternative to curbside trash pickup. He said American Eagle Waste might find a location in the area to park a truck from 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and residents could take their bagged trash to the truck and pay $2 for the trash to be taken away.
He said if the drop-off spot is created, it would not be available on weekends during a holiday week.
“It is an idea we are throwing around to try to help and not overwhelm ourselves,” Barcom said.
County Services Director Eric Larson said while Jefferson County does not provide trash service, it can help residents find options.
Email solidewaste@jeffcomo.org to receive a list of area companies’ contact information as well as a map to landfills or trash drop-off stations in the area.