NEW ORLEANS — After several rough patches in recent years, the City of New Orleans says trash pickup is about to become more consistent. Wednesday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced two new contracts that keep the status quo in Algiers, while switching much of Eastbank New Orleans to a new trash hauler.
The city is divided into trash pickup zones, each with their own service provider and pickup day.
In 2022, residents in Zone 1 began complaining that it was taking weeks for their trash to be picked up. Zone 1 encompasses Uptown, Central City, the Garden District, and part of Mid-City.
It is currently serviced by Richard’s Disposal, Inc. The company acknowledged it had missed many pickups, blaming a staffing shortage and lack of equipment and other resources. In late 2022, the mayor announced the city would help Richard’s bring in more people and equipment from Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi. She said the move came at “great cost to the city.”
On Wednesday, she and Sanitation Director Matt Torri announced two new trash hauling contracts would go into effect on April 1, 2024. Cantrell acknowledged she had seen residents
“grow very frustrated” with trash pickup in the past, “whether it's unreliable services, inconsistencies, or inefficiencies.”
One of the new contracts will allow IV Waste to take over for Richard’s in Zone 1. IV Waste already covers Zone 2, which includes much of the city north of I-10. That means once the new contract goes into effect, the company will control trash pickup in seemingly the entire Eastbank West of the Industrial Canal.
IV Waste Owner Sidney Torres thanked the City for the contract Wednesday. “I'm from the city, a lot of the people that work for us are from the city,” he said, “and we want to do a great job.”
The other contract will allow Richard’s to continue picking up trash in Algiers, which it currently services in addition to Zone 1. “As far as I know, we're doing a pretty decent job [there], but we can do better, and we will do better,” said Alvin Richard, owner of Richard’s Disposal, at Wednesday’s announcement. He also said his company is about to get a shipment of new equipment in January.
City leaders emphasized that residents should report problems with their trash pickups as soon as they happen. “Both firms, as part of their agreement, said that when you have a concern and you express it they're going to respond to it,” said Council Member Eugene Green Wednesday. If your collection is missed, call 311.
To see which trash pickup zone you live in, click here.
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