NEW ORLEANS — Two garbage collectors, IV Waste and Waste Pro rolled through several neighborhoods collecting garbage in New Orleans East, Lakeview, Gentilly, and the 9th Ward, despite the contract for garbage pickup in those areas still belonging to Metro Service Group.
“Starting Monday morning, you’re going to see a service that you’ve never seen before,” IV Waste CEO Sidney Torres said last week. “We’re going to deliver trash service without leaving trash, litter, and cans all over the place and we’re going to pick up recycling. We’re going to do it every day, the day that we’re scheduled to do it.”
Waste Pro driver, Triston Moore says she is excited to bring reliable waste collection back to the areas that have seen inconsistency in their garbage collection.
“I feel like this is going to be the best thing for the city, right now. We’re going to come in and clean it up. We’re going to do it the best way, the right way, and Waste Pro way," Moore says. “We’re going to treat every customer as not just a number. We’re going to treat every customer with care and make sure we’ll be able to serve them on time.”
The garbage haulers are out collecting while the New Orleans City Council and Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration clash over cutting IV Waste and Waste Pro in on Metro Service Group’s contracted routes. Last week, the city council voted to not allocate funding for those contracts, yet the garbage collectors push forward.
“I’m not worried about funding because we’re going to get paid. I’ve been getting paid every week under my emergency contract without any problems. The city has been really good about payment,” said Torres.
The move to bring in Waste Pro and IV Waste for nearly half of the city's trash collection comes as a the trial date for Metro and The City of New Orleans is set for January 12th, both sides arguing the other isn't holding up their end of the contract. Metro said they have every intention of working their routes as outlined in their contract
Despite the city’s pending legal battle with metro and the council shooting down a $2.5 million contract through the end of the year for the two trash companies.
“We’re paying attention to what we are supposed to be doing and cleaning the streets like we always do with our team," said Torres. "We’re going to do a first-class job and if the other company is there we will wave and say hello but we’re doing our job we’re going to pick up the cans. If they’ve already gone down the street, we’re going to clean up behind them."
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