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COMMITTEE TALKS TRASH

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:15 AM CST

Pine Bluff’s public health and welfare committee voted to amend the city’s agreement with Waste Management and discussed illegal dumping.

Waste Management collects and disposes of the city’s trash.

Aldermen voted to change the contract’s definitions to more clearly define “self-hauling,” and expressly prohibit using a third-party for hauling or disposal.

Carol Billings, city attorney, said the agreement, which aldermen said they’d like to extend by 10 years, should first be amended and then extended.

“I think you need to do it in two steps,” she said.

Also during the meeting, 3rd Ward Alderman Glen Brown mentioned his concerns with illegal dumping.

“You know everybody’s not going to do right,” he said.

Dumpsters or signs in places of frequent illegal dumping might encourage residents to place trash in bins instead of ditches, Brown added.

“I see what you’re saying — maybe if there was a Dumpster, they would all put it in one pile,” said 1st Ward Alderman Thelma Walker.

“I don’t have a problem with putting a Dumpster there,” said David Steinmetz of Waste Management.

Ted Davis, assistant to the mayor, said putting a Dumpster where people illegally dump will encourage more people to throw their trash in that location.

“That is not the solution,” Davis said. “We have to look at some other option.”

He said the city is trying to catch people illegally dumping in the city limits.

That can be a daunting task, said Robert Tucker, the director of the inspection and zoning department.

“It is very hard to catch anyone in the act,” he said.

Tucker said finding culprits after the fact is difficult as well.

“The only way to identify it is to shift through the garbage and hope there are some names on the paper,” Tucker said.

He said people who choose to illegally dump trash could be trying to save money.

Steinmetz said Waste Management charged Pine Bluff residents $30 a ton.

“While the fees may be nominal to some, they may seem very high to others,” Tucker said.

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