The Springfield city Web site announces that trash fee postcards (PDF) will be on their way to residents on April 2 explaining the upcoming revised trash fee and the related options available.
The Reminder’s G. Michael Dobbs attended a March 20 trash fee press conference, which I skipped due to volunteer-journalist burnout. Happily, his write-up of the resulting information is thorough, including a little follow-up investigative work on the part of his staff. From the article:
Springfield residents who want to opt out of the city’s trash collection service and hire a private hauler might have a bit of a problem so far there isn’t very much choice on the private side. …
Although [DPW Director Al] Chwalek could not quote private rates for trash pick-up, he said that residents should look up haulers in the Yellow Pages and compare prices for themselves. Dan Cooper of the Reminder Publications editorial staff did just that with the following results:
All Property Services, Hampden: does not offer weekly residential pickups.
Allied Waste Services, Chicopee: offers residential pickup, but not for the city of Springfield.
AllWaste Management, Springfield: no weekly residential pick-ups; deals mostly with construction waste.
All Waste Removal, Hampden: no weekly residential pickups.
City Waste, Ludlow: no weekly pickups.
Dave’s Trash Removal, East Longmeadow: will do weekly pickup, but it is a weekly fee depending on location and number of bags being picked up. Charge will also include gas.
Prompt Removal Services, Agawam: no weekly residential pickups
Enviro Tech Systems, Springfield: does not offer weekly pickups.Cooper said that two firms, New England Waste of Agawam and Waste Management, do offer residential service but do not cover Springfield because the city has municipal services. The customer service representatives seemed to be unaware of the options now afforded to Springfield residents.
The learning curve is here, and it is very steep.
