Trash changes coming
Use of blue carts mandatory as hauler changes systems
Bella Vista residents can expect changes in their trash service at the end of this year, including the addition of new, Republic-issued bins, quarterly billing and billing through Republic Services instead of through the Property Owners Association.
The new trash carts will be delivered to residents in November, accordoing to Cassi Lapp, communications manager for the city of Bella Vista. No other trash receptacles can be used after the end of the year.
The first bills, she said, will come on Dec. 15, and from there, billing will be quarterly and in advance, unlike the old bills, which were monthly and billed after the fact. The rate has also increased, she said, by 33 cents per month.
The December bill, she said, will be to cover service for January, February and March.
Lapp said it’s important to note that while this bill will come in December, it does not cover December’s service, which will be billed alongside the POA water bills residents will receive in January.
Bills will be payable online, through the mail, by phone or with auto-draft, she said.
The bins, she said, can be had in a 95- or 65-gallon size. The 95-gallon bin will be delivered by default, she said, and residents who would prefer the 65-gallon cart need to call Republic and make a request for it in the month of October.
Residents may switch their bin one time for free, she said. If they change sizes again, they will have to pay a fee.
Additionally, she said, residents can have one bin for free. Additional bins will cost an extra $2 each month.
“That is because Benton County Solid Waste District mandates that Republic operate on a volume basis,” she said. “So if residents go over that volume, they have to pay for it.”
This change in service only affects areas governed by the city, she said. Pockets that are in the POA but not the city will not be affected.
Alderman Frank Anderson said this sort of change is an eventuality.
“I think it’s something probably that has to occur,” he said. “It’s been occurring all across the nation. It obviously makes sense from the trash company’s standpoint, because it’s a mechanical system vs a manual-lift system.”
He had concerns, he said, with how payment for the service would be handled and enforced. Under the current system, he said, the POA can shut off someone’s water service if they don’t pay their full bill — including their trash.
Under the new system, he said, someone may try to avoid paying their bill and take their trash to a large bin somewhere.
While the service should no longer be provided to anyone who hasn’t paid, and failure to have trash service is a code violation, Anderson said he was concerned that this could create a burden on code enforcement personnel.
“I just didn’t have any feel for it,” Anderson said.
He said he was interested in finding out if transitions like this had proven problematic in the past.
Anderson said that he
suspects any potential issues were downplayed by representatives from Republic, but he holds no animosity toward the company.
“I think they’ve done right by the city over the years and even prior to that,” he said. “They’ve been the trash pickup company for many, many years in Bella Vista, even long before we became a city.”
Jennifer Fagan, municipal manager with Republic Services, said that this change will improve safety and efficiency, and spares residents from purchasing new trash cans.
No longer accepting curbside bags, she said, will prevent the risks associated with things like broken glass and needles, which could prove hazardous for residents as well as Republic’s drivers.
Additionally, because the new carts work in conjunction with arms on the garbage trucks, she said, the drivers can work more efficiently, allowing them to perform the same amount of work in less time, which
could lead to shorter workdays.
“By no means is this any kind of reduction in workforce,” Fagan said. “We’re essentially going to be putting out 13,000 more pieces of equipment, and we’ll be maintaining that as well, so it should create some new employment opportunities.”
Delivery of the new carts, she said, will start in November, but she does not yet have more-specific details on when exactly residents can expect their bins to show up. That process, she said, will be handled by a third party.
“It’s probably going to take us two to three weeks to get them all delivered,”
Fagan said.
Fagan said Republic intends to offer a service to pick up old trash bins as well, but specific details on that are forthcoming.
“We are really excited,” she said. “We appreciate our partnership with the city of Bella Vista and its residents.”