LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Trash and yard waste has been piling up across Southeast Michigan for weeks, and city officials say they are fed up with Priority Waste. Meanwhile, the company is claiming responsibility for the shortfall, promising an investment in staff and infrastructure, and for trash and yard pickup to all be back on track by the end of this week.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report below:
"It's just an ongoing battle on a daily basis," Lincoln Park Mayor Maureen Tobin said. "And to be this far behind? There's no excuse for it."
City officials say they have taken countless calls from frustrated residents over missed pickups that have lasted weeks.
"Either pick up the trash or refund us our money. I mean, we're willing to pay for it, just do the job!" Lincoln Park resident Gino Lalli said.
City Manager Lisa Griggs said the city has seen widespread problems with the contractor.
"A lot of inconsistencies," Griggs said. "We are given daily updates as to the status, but those do not come to fruition."
Watch our full interview with the Lincoln Park mayor and city manager below:
Lincoln Park, along with many other municipalities that work with Priority Waste, received a letter Thursday in which the company apologized for the challenges their customers have been experiencing. The company said it has purchased additional trucks, hired more drivers and is looking to make improvements.
Priority Waste is contracted by the city of Lincoln Park. That contract includes a fee the company must pay if pickup is delayed by even 24 hours.
"We've already sent Priority notification that we intend to make them pay financially for the missed pickups and not fulfilling their end of the contract," Griggs said.
When asked whether the city has considered switching to another company altogether, Griggs said "we are looking at all options."
Previous coverage: Customers in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties all continue having issues with Priority Waste
Some municipalities, including St. Clair Shores and Orion Township, have already switched to other contractors.
"Every department in my office was doing nothing but taking calls from residents, frustrated about the lack of garbage pickup. And now, we get very few, if any calls," Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said. "We needed a reliable service that our residents could count on, and we weren't getting that from Priority."
Tobin said she has sometimes been on hold for two hours trying to get answers from Priority Waste. 7 News Detroit's calls to the company also went unanswered, prompting a visit to the company's headquarters. The CEO was not available and did not speak with us.
Late Thursday, Priority Waste's Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Michael French issued the following statement:
"We are acutely aware of the frustration that service delays have caused for residents, communities, and customers. Missed collections and delayed service are disruptive, and we take that responsibility seriously.
We expect all communities to be current on trash and recycling collection by the end of today, Thursday, June 4, and expect compost and yard waste collection to be current by the end of day Saturday.
Importantly, we are all-hands-on-deck across the organization as our senior leadership, operations teams, customer care teams, maintenance personnel, and field employees are solely focused on restoring service reliability. We continue to strengthen our fleet, rebuild operational capacity, ensure a seamless leadership transition. We are also receiving new collection vehicles daily as part of our ongoing fleet stabilization efforts, which is strengthening our ability to improve route reliability and operational consistency.
We appreciate the patience, understanding, and partnership from the communities we serve and continue making the operational improvements necessary to deliver the level of service residents expect and deserve."
Previous coverage: Chesterfield Township residents frustrated as trash sits uncollected for nearly 2 weeks
"I think it's a trust issue at this point. Can we trust what they're saying and what they're telling us?" Tobin asked. “You want to believe that they’re going to do better, you want to take them for their word and then you end up like us in the last few weeks, and it’s just so frustrating.”
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