As new blue trash carts arrived, questions raised

The new blue trash carts springing up between Eunice and Opelousas, and in Opelousas, are raising concerns about the future of the trash pickup service, said Timmy Lejeune, St. Landry Parish District 11 parish councilman.
Distribution of the 96-gallon blue trash recptacles by Progressive Waste Solutions coincides with a plan to convert garbage trucks to one-worker units and to burn natural gas produced at the parish solid waste landfill in those trucks.
The parish public works committee voted to request a representative of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission speak to the council about the change.
“I received several phone calls concerned about these blue trash cans that are being placed at the residences here in the cities as well as rural St. Landry Parish,” Lejeune said during council committee meetings Wednesday in Opelousas.
“The concern of the residents and myself is there was a tax passed quite a few years ago and it was to pick up the trash in every area of the parish,” he said.
“From what I’m understanding they are limiting the people to how much trash they are going to pick up,” Lejeune said. “The containers hold, I’m not sure, I’m going to say 80 gallons of trash.”
Lejeune said people have more than that amount of trash to pick up.
“They were told on the phone to my understanding that if you need another bin, they will supply it to you with a rental fee,” he said. “When this tax passed I think it was to pick up all the trash that had in containers or bags or what have you.”
Katry Martin, executive director of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste District, said the change is a big one for many people served with twice-weekly trash collection in incorporated areas and once week in unincorporated areas.
St. Landry Parish voters approved a 0.8 percent sales tax in 1983 to pay for residential trash collection and a landfill.
The tax now generates about $9 million a year, of which about $5 million pays for residential trash collection contracted to Progressive, Martin said.
The commission is scheduled to meet Monday and will discuss the changeover including who pays for additional carts.
“The additional cost is still an unresolved matter,” he said. “The people will continue to receive unlimited pick-up at residential locations.”
Progressive Waste Solutions is responsible to provide containers, he said.
Residents are not limited to the new blue containers for garbage at this point, he said.
“If the container they have at this point isn’t sufficient then the residents are still allowed to place the additional waste in regular garbage cans,” Martin said.
Martin suggested many residents will find the new carts will meet their disposal needs.
“Many of those who think they need additional space really won’t,” he said. “So, until they get accustomed to using them they don’t generally process additional carts on the front end.”
Eunice residents are to get the new carts in July and the distribution across the parish is to be completed by Oct. 1, he said.
There are about 35,000 residential customers.
The phased-in delivery is to allow production of natural gas from the landfill to expand. The gas will be used to fuel the trash collection trucks.