Numerous complaints about the trash and recycling services in Gwinnett County have initiated a discussion on how to overhaul the program. One Gwinnett County Commissioner, Kirkland Carden, says that the trash collection service needs to be improved.
Carden is proposing several key changes that would hold the trash services accountable. The three main changes he is pushing towards include tracking and monitoring performance indicators, gathering anonymous reviews, and establishing a committee to oversee the services, along with customer satisfaction.
“Since taking office on the Board of Commissioners at the start of this year, I am alarmed by the number of complaints and issues raised by Gwinnett County residents regarding the service, quality and performance of Gwinnett County's trash and recycling services,” said Carden.
These services are provided by private companies contracted by the county and paid by taxpayers. He said that the biggest complaints focus on poor customer service and a failure to have their trash collected in a timely manner.
Carden says one of the issues is that the collection service has a 10-year contract with the county. He says he is frustrated that anyone would enter into an agreement of that time span. “An agreement of this length is unusual and encourages waste haulers to be less responsive. However, I am committed to holding the haulers accountable to the terms of their contracts,” he says.
In a release from the Board of Commissioners today, the major changes Carden wishes to implement were outlined with a detailed description.
According to the release, waste management companies should be monitored, with key performance indicators reported. Those indicators include number of incident calls, average wait time in service desk queue and the number of incident calls requiring follow-up. Carden said the key performance indicators would be used to evaluate the performance of the companies so that the county can take corrective action if they are in violation of the terms of the contract.
Secondly, Carden wishes to institute a process similar to a “secret shopper” program to provide anonymous customer reviews and performance data collection as it relates to the quality of waste management in the county.
The last change proposed was the establishment of a waste management oversight committee as part of the Gwinnett County Government. The goal would be to improve waste management performance and resident satisfaction. Similar to county committees like the Stormwater Authority and the Zoning Board of Appeals, each county commissioner would appoint a representative within their district to the committee. The committee would have oversight of hauler key performance indicator reports, hold public forums, review and recommend future waste management service contracts and hold quarterly meetings with all waste management companies.
