By Bonnie Culverhouse
A changing of the guard at Republic Services may make a difference in trash pick-up for Minden residents.
“It’s one of the most important issues we have,” said Mayor Nick Cox, pointing out that trash cans and “green waste” are reasons for most calls at city hall.
Republic Operations Manager Mike Miller and Billy Rasberry talked with Minden City Council members during a workshop Monday about changes.
“Mike came from very large cities and was brought up here to run our area,” Cox explained.
Miller said once a week trash pick-up will still be Fridays, however, trucks will be on the roads more days of the week – especially where green waste is concerned and especially following turbulent weather.
“We plan to split Minden in half,” he said. “Tuesday, we will run one side, then Wednesday, we will run a boom truck, so if he (the driver) saw a pile was too big to pick up by hand, the next day we send out the boom truck.
“The driver then knows exactly where to go, and he’s not just driving around skipping piles,” he added.
For regular trash pick-up (Fridays), Miller plans to phase in side loaders over rear loaders, because of safety issues.
An ASL (Automated Side Loader) trash pick-up truck is a garbage truck equipped with a mechanical arm that automatically picks up and empties waste containers from the side of the truck. The driver operates the arm from inside the cab, using a joystick-like control. This design allows for efficient and safe waste collection, especially in residential areas, as the driver doesn’t need to exit the vehicle for each pickup.
“The other day on Highway 79 (Homer Road), one of my ASLs was sitting there on the highway. If I’d had a helper on the back of the truck, he would’ve gotten killed,” Miller said. “The truck got clipped all the way down the side. If I had a man on the back of the truck, he’s dead.”
Miller said with new regional management at Republic, “everyone is on the same page,” which means making truck repairs to keep more in service.
Miller has been in the Shreveport office for two months.
“First month we went $250,000 over budget fixing trucks, second month we went almost $300,000 over budget,” Miller said. “My management team that works beside me … we’re not worried about a dollar amount. We’re just trying to fix these trucks.”
In an effort to hear the public’s concerns, Cox asks that all complaints and questions about trash pick-up be emailed to Kinsey Taylor at Minden City Hall. She will be the liaison between the citizens, the city and Republic. Email her at ktaylor@mindenusa.com.