ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – Communities across Metro Detroit say problems with delayed and missed trash pickup keep happening, and many of those complaints center on Priority Waste.
St. Clair Shores city leaders voted Monday not to renew the city’s contract with Priority Waste, following concerns from residents and officials about service issues.
City Manager Dustin Lent told council members the company has repeatedly promised improvements but failed to deliver.
“This is our largest service contract, and it literally has been a nightmare for the last two years,” said Council Member Chris Vitale during the meeting.
Complaints have also surfaced in Dearborn Heights, where residents say trash and yard waste pickup has been inconsistent and running late, sometimes after dark.
“They’ve been running really late. I’ve seen them out after dark. Way late. We’re running a day behind on our yard waste,” said Ann Marie Jones, a Dearborn Heights resident.
Another resident, Richard Garza, said his trash and yard waste were scheduled for Thursday pickup, but as of Tuesday, it was still sitting curbside.
“And I had that out at 6 o’clock. And here it is Tuesday, it still hasn’t been picked up,” Garza said.
In response, the City of Dearborn Heights posted on its Facebook page that Mayor Mo Baydoun is putting Priority Waste “on notice.”
The city said Baydoun sent a formal letter demanding a $13,000 deduction from the company’s May invoice for every missed or delayed collection.
Priority Waste responds: Q&A on service issues, leadership changes
Priority Waste provided the following statement in response to Local 4’s questions about ongoing complaints:
Q: How is Priority Waste handling these ongoing service issues?
A: “First and foremost, we want our customers and communities to know that we hear them, we understand their frustration, and we take full responsibility anytime we fail to deliver the level of service they expect. Addressing these issues is management’s top priority.
We have recently brought in experienced, senior leadership, including new CEO Aaron Johnson and SVP of Fleet Robert Simon. We are also actively investing in fleet upgrades, route reliability, and faster response times to improve day-to-day service and deliver solutions to impacted service areas.”
Q: What’s causing these service interruptions?
A: “Like many companies in capital-intensive industries, Priority Waste faced financial and operational headwinds that impacted its ability to consistently deliver the level of service our customers expect.The company is now under new ownership and new leadership, with the resources and focus to address these challenges head-on. We have already begun deploying new equipment, accelerating fleet replacement and modernization efforts, strengthening operational leadership, and improving how quickly we identify and resolve service issues when they occur.”
Q: Is the new CEO and restructuring helping address customer concerns and operational challenges?A: “Yes.
TPG has committed approximately $190 million to stabilize the business, upgrade and modernize Priority Waste’s fleet, and make operational improvements that customers will feel directly, including route reliability, on-time service, and faster response times when issues arise.
Aaron Johnson was specifically recruited because of his two decades of operational leadership in the waste industry, including overseeing regional operations at Reworld and extensive experience at Waste Management.
His mandate from day one has been straightforward: restore consistent, dependable service on every route in every community Priority Waste serves.
“The early focus has been on operational fundamentals and building sustainable capacity. Priority has already ordered 91 new automated side load (ASL) collection vehicles, with the first two units received this week. Deliveries are expected to continue at a pace of approximately one to two trucks per day over the next 60 days, significantly strengthening fleet availability and reliability.”
“At the same time, Priority has onboarded 28 new drivers over the past two weeks who are currently completing training and preparing to enter operations. Additionally, the company has addressed past due supplier balances, reopening the flow of repair parts, equipment, and maintenance support necessary to keep the fleet operating efficiently.
“A significant portion of customer complaints have also been related to cart delivery requests, cart repairs, and cart replacements. At one point, Priority had accumulated a backlog approaching 10,000 open cart-related service tickets. As supply chain constraints have eased and new inventory has begun arriving, the company has reduced that backlog by more than half in approximately two weeks, bringing open requests down to roughly 4,000 and expects to substantially eliminate the remaining backlog over the coming weeks.
“The focus right now is straightforward: ensure trucks are operational, routes are staffed, customers are taken care of, and service reliability improves each week. We expect customers and communities to begin seeing meaningful service improvements in the near term.”
Q: What is your message to customers across the municipalities you serve?
A: “We know trust is earned through actions, not words. Priority Waste’s customers and communities deserve reliable, consistent service, and delivering that is our first priority. We have the right leadership in place, the capital to invest in this business, and a clear plan to improve. Our focus is straightforward: show up on time, be there for our customers, and be the reliable service provider these communities deserve.”
Priority Waste also previously said it received Dearborn Heights’ demand letter and that a meeting to present a corrective action plan is in the works.