MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – Clinton Township officials are taking action against Priority Waste, following ongoing complaints about late trash pickup.
It follows the company’s takeover of trash services from GFL in parts of Macomb County last year.
Clinton Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem says the city received over 550 complaints last week alone regarding missed or delayed pickups.
“There’s late pickups all over,” Gieleghem said. “There’s three different services right now this time of year. There’s the trash, there’s the recycling and the compost, and so invariably one is getting missed, sometimes two, sometimes three, and it can go on for days, and in some cases it’s been over a week.”
Priority Waste spokesperson Matt Allen attributes recent service disruptions to multiple factors, including back-to-back storms in June, extreme heat, and scheduling challenges around the Fourth of July holiday.
The company plans to deploy 50 new trucks across its service area to replace vehicles inherited from GFL.
Allen said that Clinton Township will specifically receive four to five new trucks to improve service reliability.
“Those will be going into service fairly soon. It’ll be allocated out to the different yards,” Allen said.
Through its contract with Priority Waste, Gieleghem stated that Clinton Township can fine the company $50 per residence for any of the three contracted services—garbage, composting, and recycling—that are not completed within 24 hours after receiving notice of a missed service.
He said Clinton Township fined Priority Waste more than $48,000 in the form of a payment deduction for the month of June.
Allen confirmed the company plans to dispute the fines.
“Yes, that is going to be in dispute, but that’ll be ironed out in time,” Allen said. “We have to look at their list; they’re going to look at ours.”
These reports will be forwarded directly to Priority Waste.
Residents are asked to complete an online form, which can be found by clicking here.
“If we don’t get back to a more consistent level of service, then we have to look at all of the options within the contract, which includes finding another vendor that can meet the needs of our community,” Gieleghem said.
Priority Waste also provided the following statement to Local 4:
“Priority remains fully committed to Clinton Townships and all the communities we serve. Our services are current, and we continually strive for timely execution. In the event of a missed pickup, collection will occur the next service day. The Priority team extends its sincere appreciation for the community’s support of our dedicated men and women working hard every day.”