The city of Pine Bluff’s transition to a new solid waste service provider, CARDS, has been marked by confusion and frustration for many residents, largely due to complications with the outgoing provider, Waste Management, according to officials.
While city officials, including Mayor Vivian Flowers, maintain that the transition of service is ultimately progressing, she said a lack of cooperation from Waste Management regarding essential route information has forced CARDS to create new pickup routes, leading to unexpected changes in service days for residents.
A manager with Waste Management said all pertinent information was turned over to city officials in early October.
CARDS officially began service on Nov. 1 to all Pine Bluff commercial and residential customers. According to Flowers, in a recent discussion, Waste Management did not provide the city or CARDS with the old residential routes or maps. “We were not given access to the routes by Waste Management,” Flowers stated, adding that this forced the new provider to establish new routes and service day areas.
Many residents expressed dismay over the unannounced changes. Facebook comments included complaints from residents whose pickup day unexpectedly shifted from Wednesday to another day, or whose regular Tuesday service was suddenly changed.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In addition to the route changes, residents noted a lack of clear communication. One commenter, Nicole Kemisha, pointed out that not everyone is on social media to see updates, and another, Evette La’Trice, noted that the map that was posted was “so little you would’ve needed a magnifying glass to read it.”
The collection of old Waste Management containers also proved difficult. Flowers reported that WM was supposed to collect the containers on the last day of service, but some residents, according to WM officials, refused to relinquish them until their new CARDS containers arrived.
Despite the tumultuous start, Flowers emphasized that CARDS has been proactive in addressing issues and is expected to be in a “good place in the next week or two.”
She also spoke about key positives cited for the new service, including that CARDS has established a local call center, which is said to be answering calls quickly and that the company has been responsive in delivering new containers and resolving immediate issues.
Facebook posts even singled out individual CARDS employees, such as a young man named Braylon, by residents for providing “great customer service” and following through on promises.”
“A great deal of the staff at the new CARDS facility previously worked for Waste Management, ensuring that the team is familiar with the city and its customers,” said Flowers.
Flowers acknowledged that after 35 years of service with the previous company, a perfect transition was not expected, but stated the transition on the part of Waste Management “has not been smooth and as a matter of fact, it’s been disappointing.”
While the transition was disorganized due to issues with the outgoing provider not needed information, the new company was responsive in delivering on its commitments, the mayor said.
Flowers agreed that CARDS successfully picked up the trash, even for people whose days had changed. Flowers and residents praised CARDS for their responsiveness, quick call center service and good customer service from individual employees, which made the difference during the chaotic transition.
According to Flowers, the situation with the uncollected Waste Management containers was that the initial plan was that Waste Management was supposed to collect their containers on the resident’s last day of service.
Flowers said she had received an email from Waste Management stating they would make one more attempt to collect the remaining containers. After that one final collection attempt, residents who still possess a Waste Management container would be required to transport it themselves to the Waste Management hauling site.
Flowers said that all residents had their new CARDS containers, and she saw “no reason why Waste Management couldn’t pick up their containers.” She also said that the city planned to “deal with” the issue of any remaining WM containers after the following week.
Jamie Vernon, a manager of Arkansas for Waste Management, said the schedule, shared with the city on Oct. 9, outlined specific dates and procedures for the collection of residential carts, commercial containers and roll-off containers.
“The removal of residential carts will be handled by a third-party contractor and is set to begin on October 27th. Carts will be collected on each resident’s regular service day,” said Vernon in the email. “Residents are instructed to place their carts at the curb for their final regular collection and leave them at the curb for the contractor to remove.”
According to Vernon, for carts that are not placed curbside during the last week of October, WM will conduct a follow-up removal sweep during the week of Nov. 2 to collect any remaining carts.
Carts that are not collected during this two-week period ending in early November may be delivered directly to the WM hauling facility located at 6300 W 4th Ave. in Pine Bluff.
A schedule has also been set for the removal of larger containers by a third-party contractor during the week of Oct. 27 to 31. The removal will take place on the customer’s final service day.
For roll-off containers, WM will be responsible for removing these containers during the week of October 27 to 31, also on the customer’s final service day.
“In a coordinated effort, the mayor’s office has been asked to forward the information of residents who call city offices with questions about residential cart removals,” said Vernon in an email. “Residents with questions about the overall waste container removals are encouraged to contact the local Pine Bluff office at (870) 939-6970.”
To find your service day, go to https://cardsrecycling.com/service-area/pine-bluff-arkansas/. Scroll down and enter your service address in the map tool; it will display your scheduled service day.