The City of Kirksville switched over its residential trash services from Advanced Disposal to RTS Waste Services LLC, which will go into effect Oct. 1. This will be the first time they have switched services in over 20 years. RTS announced that it was able to buy the cans Advanced Disposal gave Kirksville residents, so the cans residents currently have will be picked up by RTS and a sticker will be placed on them to represent the new services.
Reid Yardley, Kirksville Code Enforcement director, said in an email statement that RTS is offering the same services as the previous company, so customers shouldn’t notice any difference in their services.
Yardley said city staff believes the smaller trucks RTS has offered to use will save the City money on the maintenance of city streets.
Yardley said that residents currently pay $11.23 per household for trash services. RTS was quoted for $11.55 per household, which is slightly higher than the current cost.
During the Kirksville City Council meeting Sept. 16, the new trash service was discussed. Lynn Blankenship, a resident of Kirksville, talked about his concerns with Advanced Disposal and said that in his opinion, they have done a terrible job.
Blankenship said that Advanced Disposal failed to pick up the one bulk item per week, which was specified in their contract. He said that citizens are not supposed to call about these issues and even when they did, the items would sit there for weeks, sometimes months.
Daryn Stark, who is a managing partner of RTS, said, “We were awarded the contract for five years for providing waste removal services to each home in Kirksville that is less than four units in the complex. This means approximately 5,570 homes we provide service to.”
Stark said that they are recruiting drivers with a Commercial Driver License and are also hiring part time to help ride the back of truck and pick up waste cans in the neighborhoods.
Stark said that as they start to take on the rural areas in November, they will need more drivers.
Yardley said, “The City Council made the decision to approve the use of RTS for trash service by considering the proposed cost to the citizens and the concern about the damage to our streets caused by the larger trucks that Advanced [Disposal] uses. Advanced [Disposal] did not propose to use smaller trucks. Their proposal stated that they would work with city staff to modify their routes to help lower their average weight.”