Grosse Pointe Park officials approve new contract replacing Priority Waste for trash pickup
The Grosse Pointe Park City Council voted unanimously to approve a new contract with Express Waste Services and replace Priority Waste. The council says it took inspiration from another nearby city after St. Clair Shores made a change to Express Waste last month and saw how much better it's been.
"The prior company, you never knew when they were going to show up. It could be put your cans out 8 o'clock, 6 o'clock, a lot of times it was missed," Jason Bayliss from St. Claire Shores said.
In June, St. Claire Shores made the switch from Priority Waste to Express Waste, and the residents say they now have no worries about their trash getting picked up. A big change from just a few weeks ago.
"Sometimes they didn't pick up everything. There's been a big change. Everything disappears on the day it's supposed to," said Britt Backus from St. Claire Shores.
And it's this change in St. Claire Shores that caught the attention of the Grosse Pointe Park City Council.
"And the biggest complaint we heard from St. Claire Shores, and their residents, was that Express was actually out too early in the morning and left their City too early. And those are problems we'd like to inherit here in Grosse Pointe Park," Grosse Pointe Park City Councilmember Tim Kolar said.
This summer, Priority Waste has lost its contract or received complaints from several communities, including Westland, Dearborn Heights, and Chesterfield.
Kolar told CBS Detroit that it would be a rarity for the Department of Public Works in his city not to receive a complaint about Priority Waste.
"Having those customer service issues is something we've been dealing with on a weekly and monthly basis for a consistent period of almost two years," said Kolar.
Jeff Rizzo, the president of Express Waste, told CBS Detroit, "Express Waste is honored to be given the opportunity to serve the residents of Grosse Pointe Park. Express Waste is ready to provide the level of service residents expect of their waste hauler on day one."
Priority Waste did not respond to CBS News Detroit's request for comment, but earlier in July, the new CEO of the Clinton Township-based company sent a letter to its customers promising more trucks and staff and increased investments in customer service and recovery operations.
Grosse Pointe Park's new contract with Express Waste will begin on Oct. 1, and residents will have to pay about $ 3 more per month. Tim Kolar says that the price increase will be worth every penny.
