A proposed contract for automated trash collection would increase efficiency, improve aesthetics and raise rates by $1.86 in the city and $3.32 in rural areas while reducing trash pickup to once per week.
Earlier this year the city-parish council authorized negotiating a new contract with Allied Waste Management, which has asked to switch to an automated service. The current contract does not expire until September 2010.
The company's ongoing struggle with labor shortages has caused service problems, but the proposed plan, revealed at last night's council meeting, will increase efficiency by using a single 96-gallon specially fitted bin that would be picked up by new trucks equipped with mechanical arms.
The new contract would offer a flat $19.52 per month fee for residents in the city and rural areas. Both trash and yard waste would be picked up once per week. Yard waste collection would not be automated and would remain the same as the current contract.
If the council approves the proposed contract, the new terms would begin Nov. 1 and run through Oct. 31, 2018. However, the new rates and service would take effect in April 2009.