West Bloomfield Community Grapples with Trash Pickup Troubles FOLLOWING WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANY SWITCH
West Bloomfield, a township in Michigan, is seeking a $1.5 million forfeiture of a performance bond from GFL, a waste management company. The forfeiture has been called into question following a wave of complaints from residents who have experienced poor waste collection services. This upheaval was instigated by the transfer of GFL’s residential contracts to the company Priority Waste, effective from July 1st.
While it’s common for challenges to emerge during changes in company control, the journey for Priority Waste has been rougher than expected. The company reports having taken over for more than 70,000 clients spread across 73 diverse communities in five southeast Michigan counties. Notable among these is West Bloomfield, whose residents, unfortunately, have to report several problems during the early stages of the handover.
Following these reports, Township supervisor Steven Kaplan highlighted the obligations of Priority Waste to its consumers, which include weekly collection of yard waste, garbage, and recycling. Yet only two weeks into the transition, more than 1,000 residents reported dissatisfaction in service delivery, ranging from outright non-existent yard waste removal to poor management.
A further probe into the matter revealed a shortage of functioning collection trucks, key for effective service delivery. According to Matt Allen, Priority Waste’s director of public relations and governmental affairs, they anticipated an addition of around 380 trucks from GFL to their fleet. Regrettably, over half of this fleet turned out to be unserviceable and failed to meet the minimum operational and safety requirements outlined by the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Moreover, at a township Board of Trustees meeting held on July 15th, all trustees unanimously approved seeking a forfeiture of a $1.5 million performance bond with GFL. In Kaplan’s words, the forfeiture becomes part of the remedy sought after GFL’s poor performance in the weeks leading up to July 1. However, the matter may likely end up in court.
If the forfeiture materialises, Kaplan suggests that the township will ask Priority Waste to credit $20 to the accounts of the roughly 20,000 households affected by GFL’s unfinished tasks. This is an approximate total of $400,000. The remaining funds will be used for attorney fees and compensation for township employees who’ve spent approximately a month responding to resident complaints.
Despite the hurdles faced so far, Allen remains hopeful that these teething troubles will soon be a thing of the past. In his words, “the fix started on July 1st, and that’s what we’ve been executing”.
In the meantime, residents are advised to cancel any automatic payments set up through a bank or credit union to avoid unintended payments being sent to GFL. Furthermore, those who paid GFL in full for the year are all set until next March.
For more information regarding the transition or ongoing services, residents can visit the Priority Waste website or contact them directly. Further questions and concerns can also be directed to representatives at the township office.
