Crawfish fewer, smaller and pricier because of cold snap
February 24, 2015Our view: La. needs to care about and vote for education
February 24, 2015An improved waste disposal system is coming to Lafourche Parish as it has signed a five-year agreement with Progressive Waste Solutions.
The agreement covers all areas of the parish outside of the city limits of Thibodaux. It runs until the end of 2019, and its cost is covered by the seven-tenths of a cent sales tax in perpetuity – bringing in about $8 million per year – approved by parish voters in 1988 with no expectation of a need for an increase in sales tax to pay for the enhanced services.
Those enhanced services include added safety and a 95-gallon wheeled cart delivered to residents at no additional cost.
“We believe that a uniform cart system will add to the beauty of the parish because now we have an assortment of cans out there and some people don’t even use cans. We’ve got bags. The animals get to the bags. They rip the bags up, and then we have a litter problem, and so we believe the cart system will improve that situation dramatically,” said Lafourche Parish Department of Solid Waste Manager Jerome Danos.
Additionally, Danos said the semi- or fully-automated trucks will result in the necessity of having only one or no workers on the back of the truck enhancing safety.
“It’ll be a safer environment for the workers on the back of the truck, and it’ll be safer for the motorists that are trying to negotiate around these vehicles as they collecting the garbage,” the manager added.
Residents will be limited to one 95-gallon cart unless they can prove justification for needing an additional cart. With garbage collection service passing twice a week, the resident would need to demonstrate 190 gallons of waste space a week isn’t enough. If a second cart is issued, it will also be free.
“We expect a high percentage of the households should have enough capacity with just one cart, but we do realize that there will be some customers that are going to generate more than one cart, so that will be the justification. If you’re filling up a cart, and you have overflow and the second cart will be justified, we’ll issue you a second cart,” Danos explained.
Carts remain the property of Progressive Waste Solutions, and no resident will be issued a third cart.
“If you need more than two carts per week, twice a week per week, then you obviously going to have to make some other arrangements with your disposal needs because you’re generating more like a commercial disposal than just a typical residential disposal,” said Danos. “If you exceed the two carts, then you’re looking at getting a roll off container or a front-end loader commercial dumpster arrangement.”
