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Ted Wright -- last update 10/19/2004 & 10/20 (TrashOct19.html) www.cvilleok.com
Copyright 2004 -- Collinsville, Oklahoma

Email Letter-to-cvilleok.com
Trash Transitions
Oct. 19, 2004
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Dear Ted,

I believe you will get a kick out of this. My wife and I are laughing about it ourselves, though mostly just out of disbelief.

First, we got our new polycart Friday, and the letter attached said that our service would begin October 18th. One of the lines in the letter attached to the new polycart stated “Remain assured that the trash will be collected as promised.”

When we got home from work Monday, the trash had not been collected. We were a little dismayed…especially since we had ‘been promised’ and all.

After just going to bed, we heard what sounded like a trash truck. My wife said…’no way, it’s almost midnight’. But we got up to investigate anyway. (My wife is known as a nosy neighbor, just ask around). Sure enough, it WAS the trash truck, collecting our trash “as promised”. Never did we imagine it would take place at 11:45p.m.!?! And, as if that wasn’t ridiculous enough….they left our brand spankin new polycart sitting in the street for some crazy driver to cream! If you’ve ever been at the intersection of 11th & Oak, you know that cars fly down this road going about 40 m.p.h., so that’s not too farfetched to imagine someone hitting said polycart! And of course, if some idiot did crash into it, I’m sure the City would be sending us a bill posthaste for a new polycart.

Please find the enclosed attachment of two pictures of the polycart sitting in the road.

I look forward to seeing this on your website….we’re die hard fans and have it as our homepage. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. Oh, and by the way, the new trash truck is really cool….you should see it in action! (Hopefully next time we’ll get to see it in the daylight hours).

Yours Truly,

Terry and Tracey Jarrard

223 North 11th Street

C’ville

Note: I don't have a "posted" letters policy yet but will try to formulate one as they come in and deal with them on case-by-case basis. Including name and address is a definite requirement. I do want to encourage cvilleok.com viewer feedback on what is happening in Collinsville. -- Ted Wright

Ted Wright Comments 10/18: In driving around this weekend it appeared all the polycarts were delivered in or near the street. I expect the city/Waste Connections will clarify the proper location for the polycarts for safe operation.

I know there have been and will be transition difficulties but encourage everyone to be patient till we reach steady state. Working near/after midnight to complete a task seems commendable to me. I had polycart service in Texas for at least 10 years and in rural Collinsville (w/Risley) for about 4 years and fully expect folks will soon see the long term benefits.

In the meantime contact City Hall (918) 371-1010 with complaints and questions.

In a report to the City Commission Monday Oct 18, Waste Connections, Inc. indicated one time per week residential service would begin Oct. 18. They planned to run both types of truck for those who did not have their polycarts yet. Commerical service is expected to be transitioned by Nov. 1.
According to a handout I picked up at city hall last week: "polycarts should be placed in front by the curb and available for pickup by 7am on specified pickup day. Trash will be picked up once a week". -- Ted
New Residential Trash Pickup Days:
Monday -- North of Broadway / West of Hwy 169
Wednesday -- South of Broadway / West of Hwy 169
Friday -- East of Hwy 169
Acting City Manager Bob Wolfram provided these photos (Oct. 20th) of one of the new automated trash trucks picking up a commercial dumpster.

Oct. 20 Email from Waste Connections, Inc. --

I want you to know how much we appreciate you and the citizens in Collinsville. Change can come hard to some of us. It is a little like child birth as one of the Collinsville Commissioners stated. I assured him that this is about my five hundredth child since I have been in the Waste Industry, so I know it is stressful for the leadership there as well. They want to provide the citizens with the best possible services.

We think we will meet our goal of adding the Citizens of Collinsville to our list of Cities and Town's who can no longer imagine going back to the old methods of picking up trash in their towns.

I appreciate the critical and the complementary letters. It helps us to understand the concerns we will need to overcome. I thought the articles were very well done.
I can assure you, our employees will fine tune the service so that they can get the trucks off the street before dark. The transition on such short notice has been unique and a challenge at best. We will provide information for the residents as we get further along, regarding any clarification on placement of carts or any other continuing issues that we observe moving forward.

A transition typically takes 30 to 60 days. The previous contractor left abruptly and refused any request of ours for route sheet copies or customer lists. It has been a bit of a trial by fire. We have a good bunch of folks at Waste Connections that really enjoy the pride that comes from a job well done so I think Collinsville will be in good hands.

If I can personally be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for getting the word out.

--Brenda Merchant
State Sales and Municipal Manager

Please Visit us on the web at
www.wasteconnections.com