In the wake of December’s trash collection delays and failures, Republic Services, which is contracted by the City of Bedford for trash removal, appeared before City Council last Tuesday, the 14th.  They attempted to explain why some people’s trash was not collected on time and how “a perfect storm” of problems overwhelmed them.

The problems with Republic, according to Council Member Amy Sabol, went on for some residents for as long as three weeks and appeared to be mostly on Bedford’s south side with phone complaints coming into the City at the time, she said, that seemed to “never stop.”  Sabol said she feels like Republic “made excuses,” when addressing the issues with the Council, but “really did not apologize.”  To the contrary, she added, Republic claimed that Bedford’s trash is increasing, even though our population is not.

Jeri Harwell, representing Republic before the Council, works in the company’s business and contract development department.  She explained to the Council that the December demand for collection in Bedford rose unexpectedly.  Typically, she said, the amount of trash in Bedford increases from November to December typically by about 100 tons to 150 tons.  “However, this year it went up 470 tons,” Harwell stated, which equates to about “40 additional hauls to the landfill.  That’s a lot!”

Secondly, Harwell attributed the delays to leaves falling off the trees in a just a single week this year, which overwhelmed their collection crews because “people like to bag their leaves instead of mulching them back into the grass.”

Third, she blamed the delays on “a wet December, which delays our landfill time.”

“So, we weren’t prepared for this much of an increase” in trash collection, she stated.  Harwell continued, however, adding that they had “new drivers” and that “everybody wants to be off for the holidays.”

“So, when you look at the whole picture,” Harwell concluded, “it was the perfect storm, not to bring up the fact that we just had an ice storm” and that they had “other cities” to service.  Before taking questions from the Council, Harwell added an apology, saying “I do apologize for what happened in December.”

Mayor Dan Cogan expressed his appreciation to Harwell for coming to the Council meeting to explain the delays and for admitting “you guys weren’t prepared.”  However, he added, “I do have some concerns.”

Cogan said City staff “spent a lot of time fielding calls” from the residents rather than focusing on other duties.  “I mean, I keep hearing ‘perfect storm,’ but whenever there is a storm, it is the ‘perfect storm’” and added in a calm, yet direct tone, that “you guys aren’t prepared.  You’re just not prepared for these situations to occur.”

Cogan indicated the problem for the City was not just “the time that’s being spent handling resident’s complaints, but also in the communication.”  North Richland Hills, he said, “had their information about the trash collection before we (in Bedford) knew what was going on.”

He said, however, that “once we do tell our residents what is going on with your trash pickup, with your collections, they’re very understanding.

City Manager Andrea Roy added, “I think it’s just a frustration level with the residents that I felt like we kind of strung people along a little bit” and that “three weeks is a long time.”

“I think that we need to work on our communication and get the message out sooner,” she recommended.  “So, it’s kind of a myriad of things” and stated that “we can’t continue like this.”

In an attempt to offer a solution, Harwell responded that she is now working with her staff at Republic, along with the City’s staff to ensure “quicker responses” and is working “to kind of step back and regroup.”

City Manager Roy agreed that “we need a reset and I think there are some tweaks that need to be made.”

Harwell responded again that “I know what needs to be done” and “I don’t think you’re going to see this problem again.”