Beginning July 1, the unincorporated areas of the parish will be served by a new solid waste collection contractor, Pelican Waste & Debris. Residents will experience a few changes to go along with the bright blue bins Pelican has been distributing.
Trash collection charges will no longer be included on residential water bills. When the end date of the contract with Waste Management was approaching, the parish council issued a request for proposals for a new contract, and one of the requirements was direct customer billing.
Parish officials say that billing customers for garbage service through their rural water system accounts has resulted in annual losses of nearly $300,000 that had to be absorbed by parish government.
Customers will now receive a bill every three months. The first bills have been mailed, and the quarterly cost is $63.60, or $21.20 per month. Rural customers have been paying $17.68 per month for the Waste Management service.
Recycling will be easier under the new plan, as wheeled 64-gallon, yellow-lidded recycle carts are being provided to replace the smaller containers used in the past.
Like trash collection, recycling bins will be emptied once a week. Trash collection days will be the same as before, and recycling will be picked up the same day.
Items suitable for recycling include: Cardboard, paper bags, telephone books, newspaper,
magazines, catalogs, junk mail and office paper.
Also, steel and tin cans, plastic jugs #1-2 and household plastics #1-6. All plastic bottles must be rinsed out completely. If you are unsure if a plastic item falls under the #1-6 category, look for the triangle recycle symbol with the number in the middle.
No plastic bags, toys, six-pack rings, chemical containers, hardcover books, carbon paper, soiled paper, Styrofoam, aerosol cans, wire hangers, and non-food metal containers may be placed in recycle bins.
If prohibited items are inside the container Pelican will not empty the recycle cart and a warning will be issued. After three warnings recycle bins will be removed and the customer will no longer have the option to recycle.
White goods, furniture and yard wastes will be picked up twice a month.
A hazardous material collection program is to be instituted a later date. Customers will be notified of the schedule and requirements.
