Parish Council gets an answer to its $95 garbage cart question

A plan to automate household garbage collection appears to be headed toward trouble in rural St. Landry Parish.
Three St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission members and the district’s executive director ran into firestorm of protest over a plan to limit rural residents to using one 96-gallon trash can a week for garbage disposal.
Rural residents, who get once-a-week service, would end up paying $95 for an additional can if their garbage exceeds the one can they will be issued free.
Garbage is collected twice-weekly in incorporated areas.
Timmy Lejeune, District 11 councilman who has raised the issue of unfairness to rural residents, said at Wednesday’s Parish Council meeting that when the tax was passed there was an understanding all residential garbage would be picked up.
“And, that was all of our garbage, not just what would fit in a blue container,” he said.
Katry Martin, executive director of the solid waste district, said, “We hope at some point the vast majority will find a 96-gallon cart will be sufficient.”
But Lejeune pressed his point of unfairness. “Suppose they cannot afford another cart. What do they do? Are you going to deny the pick-up of garbage if they leave it in a regular trash can?”
A bar code on the cans identifies them to a residence.
Lejeune added, “When the tax passed you all were going to pick up all the garbage with no conditions attached.”
St. Landry Parish voters approved a 0.8 percent sale tax in 1983 to fund the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste District, which included residential garbage collection and a landfill.
The tax generates about $9 million a year. About $5 million pays for residential garbage collection, which is contracted to Progressive Waste Solutions.
The solid waste commission is allowing Progressive to use garbage collection trucks operated by one person. The trucks will be fueled by natural gas produced at the parish landfill.
The sticking point is the containers, which have been delivered in Opelousas and the rural area between Eunice and Opelousas.
Lejeune said, “It is a no-win for the people in rural St. Landry Parish. If someone steals their can that they purchased they have to go out and purchase another one, but in the municipalities they only need one can and it is issued by solid waste and if they steal that can solid waste provides them with another.”
Rural residents would get a free replacement if the cart issued them is stolen, but a second cart, if stolen or lost, would not be replaced free.
Lejeune said he had received about 25 complaints in a week and half about the new collection policy.
Jerry Red, District 1 councilman, said the council was not informed about the change.
“This council didn’t get anything until it came in the mail,” he said.
Jodi Powell, chairwoman of the solid waste commission, replied, “Mister, you are probably right” about the lack of notification.
Red countered, “I think I am right.”
On a similar note, Powell said Lejeune should come to a solid waste commission meeting to express his concerns, but he later noted it is the commissioners who need to keep council members informed.
“We are the ones who appoint you,” he said.
The exchanges did not result in changes to the garbage collection plan.
Powell said the commission is waiting to see how the plan rolls out.