I’ve lived in the neighborhood mentioned in this story for the past 10 years and never noticed any of the things some critics of the current system are complaining about, but then I am not there all day every day to witness it. The Boss, however, is at home several days a week. She doesn’t have a problem with it. To my knowledge all the haulers offer curbside recycling and yard waste disposal. It’s nice to be able to choose from different pick up options and range of prices for services. Interestingly enough, we are moving in a couple weeks inside the city limits where there is only one hauler under the city contract. When we set up the new service, we were pleased to find the services we wanted better than what we have now and a few dollars cheaper a month. I hope the county can work out a similar package for unincorporated residents.

no….no…no……

Whenever government tries to limit or restrict participation, an opportunity for kickbacks opens up. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in Charley County! Also, the level of service sometimes diminishes. Look at the nightmares associated with dealing with CHARTER! Ohmygod!!!!!

I see no good reason to restrict participation. Whatever noise issues may be involved would likely not diminish whether 1 firm or 5 different firms are hauling trash. Still gotta provide the same number of trucks to haul away the same volume of trash!

Something fishy is brewing in Charlieville!

It’s people like Foust that gives politicians bad names. He wants to controll your life. Next thing they will do is put video cameras everywhere to watch people. The things they should be addressing.
1) Corrupt county police department ……. drugs are rapant through out the department
2) repeal the pay raise they just voted past for themselves.
3) Poor roads
4) Poor planning look at all of the subdivisions that have stoped building creating isores.
5) Stop waisting our money on allowing county employees fill up their gas tanks on or dime.
6) Cut taxes
7) Stop trying to run peoples lives……….. they all are control freaks.
Investigate the police department they have killed morte people than “criminals” in our county.
9) Find out why school administrators are protecting teachers who are having affairs with students.
10)Stop letting Lindenwood dictate to the council what they want. Danny had the same problem in St. Charles. Homes that were going up in value are and have bben going down. Lidenwood does not maintain there properties.

Vote all people out of office this fall. This is the only way to change a corrupt system.

The good thing about the proposal is it would reduce noise and traffic. Yes, Ryan is right, the same volume of trash gets hauled – but what he missed is far fewer miles are driven. Consider a typical neighborhood – if it’s homes are evenly split amongst 5 haulers, then five different trash trucks have to drive that entire neighborhood to collect trash. If it’s served by 1 hauler, then only one trip has to be made. But noise abatement and traffic reduction are probably not the driving force behind this proposal – I think it’s gas prices. By consolidating their routes, a hauler can service the same number of people, with FAR less gas.

The bad thing about this proposal is it’s open to abuse. By granting monopolies, these companies could raise rates, and the customers would have no choice but to pay. Also, the process of creating the districts will be politically charged and has a high potential for kickbacks, pandering, etc. The haulers will all want high density developments with locations close to their hubs. No one will want the low density outlying areas they have to drive to reach.

In the end, the upside is concrete – implementing this will reduce noise, wear and tear on the roads and save the haulers money. The downsides however are variable – poor oversight could make them worse than anticipated, and excellent oversight could minimize (or eliminate) them. Just for starters, the downsides could be controlled by passing the savings on to the customers. We know the haulers will save money – so the people should get some of that savings as compensation for their loss of choice. Also, the service should have a built in complaint system, so disputes could be handled by an oversight committee with the power to fine a hauler for unresolved complaints. And finally, the process of drawing up the districts should be WIDE open – all proposals available on the web, with allowance for open participation by interested parties.

But if they plan on doing this the old fashioned way – create districts to favor the best connected, take the savings and pass on an increase to the people, and eliminate the people’s ability to protest bad service by switching providers – then don’t bother.

Within the last month my waste company raised their rates. I quickly made a few calls and found a better deal. I was able to reduce my bill by over $100 a year with a few phone calls. I told my friend in O’Fallon, to call and get bids to lower his bill. He can’t, they have what this guy wants. Someone got paid off and the service went down and the rates went up. He has had nothing good to say about the new carrier. Since it is the only game in town, nothing will change.
I think Faust is looking to make some money on his way out. I know I would do everything I could to vote him out if he proceeds. They should consider the needs of the people rather than their own agendas.

It’s just like the MSD problem that people are experiencing. Big government is coming weather we like it or not. The reason most stay in unincorporated areas is to get away from someone trying to tell you how to live. I for one hate big government. It won’t be long and we will have to open our doors for scheduled inspections by government agencies. We need a good Libertarian in charge.

This just stinks. I had a problem with IESI. Several times they lost my on-line payment and several weeks we went where they simply didn’t pick up my trash because of it. Initially, I bought two brand new garbage cans with latching lids and they were both broken with the handles cracked off within 6 months due to the IESI’s hauler’s careless handling (tossing garbage cans after emptying). After losing my payment the third time, I cancelled their service and called up American Eagle waste. American Eagle had a lower rate, have never once lost my payment, they have never once missed a pickup, and they place the lids back on my garbage cans and place them on the sidewalk.

If I get forced to use a carrier that does not provide this same level of customer service for the same rate that I am currently paying, I will be very tempted to deposit my stinky garbage on the lawn of any representatives who have voted for shoving this cr@p down our throats for no good reason other than to get kickbacks from one or more of the major trash haulers. We will end up getting stuck with ONE hauler that will have no need to provide good customer service and can charge whatever they want. I think all politicians that think that their job is to control our lives and to collect more fees and taxes from us should be taken out back and kicked in the stomach until they change their minds. And then they should be fired.

I live in St. Charles Hills and there are a lot of trash truck driving through there. However, I had service with Allied Waste and for the same price with Aspen Waste, I was able to get a big trash barrel and a barrel for recycling. Competition lowers prices for the consumer. Dan Foust: which trash company is greasing your pocket to get the contract?

We do not need government in order to have our trash picked up and hauled away.

We do not need, nor should we want, government to act on our behalf to determine by whom, when, and how our trash will be picked up, and at what cost to us.

What has government done to merit our that it will act in our best interests when contracting for this service and ensure that its chosen contractor provides an appropriate level of service at modest cost.

Government hasn’t exactly distinguished itself as a great steward of the money it takes from us. What makes anyone believe it would be better with the money we retain.

There is no need for government to add trash collection to its responsibilities. What useful, or even legitimate, purpose is
served by government inserting itself into formerly private business transactions as the Grand Master Contractor.

We do not need a larger, more powerful government. We should not risk having trash collection, which would be among the largest contracts ever let by county government, become a way of dispensing political patronage or funneling tax dollars to favored parties.

Having the County contract for trash pickup on behalf of its residents
is one of the worst ideas to have surfaced in a very long time.