La Center’s contract with Republic Services ended June 1 and the new service provider has yet not distributed new trash cans for the city.
LA CENTER, Ky. — For some residents of Ballard County, trash day didn’t mean crews picking up their waste but instead taking their trash bins.
After the city of La Center changed their trash contract, trash pick-up for many residents has halted and their old bins have been carried away. The city’s attorney, Stacey Blankenship, said in a statement that the new contractor, D&D Disposal, is not expected to start pick-ups until at least mid-June.
“The City of LaCenter’s trash contract with Republic Services expired on June 1st. The City awarded a new contract to D&D Disposal,” the statement read. “However, the contract with D&D does not begin until July 1st. The City has requested D&D to start earlier than July 1st but D&D will not have a sufficient number of trash cans to begin pick-up until after June 14th.”
According to the statement, the city of La Center put out two large dumpsters downtown for residents to drop off trash in the interim. If residents can’t drop off the trash themselves, they can call city hall and an employee will pick it up for them. Residents won’t be charged for trash pick-up for the month of June.
Two dumpsters were set up on 150 3rd Street until services resume.
News of the contract expiration broke on the LaCenter Informational Page after a post from La Center City Clerk Barbara Nutt. According to the post, Republic began picking up trashcans without notifying the city, though they were within their right to do so. Though the city was preparing to switch out cans this month, the post said they were surprised by bins’ removal.
La Center resident Eddy Oliver went to city hall to ask about the trash situation, as he said trash company workers took his can away Wednesday morning. He said he believes that city officials needed to be more open about the switch and when residents can expect their trash to be picked up again.
“We didn’t know anything about it,” Oliver said. “I asked the guy picking cans up, and he said that they went with another company. We didn’t know anything about it. Nobody tells anybody anything.”
New trash cans are not expected to be dropped off until after June 14.
Hubert Harned, another resident of La Center, took his trash to the dumpster set up by the city, though he said his trash can had not yet been taken. Like Oliver, he said the city could have been more transparent about the situation.
“Somebody said they put it on Facebook. We have a lot of people in this town that (do) not get on Facebook,” Harned said. “They did not put nothing in the people that live in the city, in the mailboxes, and that was not done, so it’s a poor arrangement.”