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Greetings Miramarians,
Hoping your summer is going well as we make our way towards our new normal. For this column, I wanted to give you an update on an issue affecting our city, bulk waste collection.
Ever since the pandemic, our collection schedule has been inconsistent resulting in bulk trash not being collected for days. Although I recognize our environmental challenges, labor constraints and other factors, I am not satisfied with this situation, so let me explain what the issues are, cause of the delays and direct action taken to address these delays.
ISSUE:
Solid Waste hauling contractor Waste Pro is experiencing significant delays in completing daily solid waste bulk collection and resulting impact to City residents.
CAUSE OF DELAYS:
The delays are resulting from a number of factors:
1. Industry-wide issue with labor shortage in recruiting trained Commercial Drivers’ License (“CDL”) drivers to operate collection vehicles;
2. Increased volume in bulk material placed curbside for pickup;
3. Landscape contractors generated debris taking advantage of City’s unlimited bulk and placing landscape material curbside for collection;
4. General construction related material (concrete, roofing, fence material) placed curbside for pickup;
5. Long wait lines at the dump site.
REMEDY:
1. Waste Pro continues to provide required resources to ensure bulk collection remains on schedule;
2. City staff continues to supplement with limited resource (equipment and staff) to retrieve bulk material;
3. Waste Pro will provide daily updates on resources and collection completion.
STEPS MOVING FORWARD:
1. City staff will continue to notify impacted communities by communicating any delays to Homeowners Association Property Managers for subsequent notification to residents;
2. Office of Marketing is also assisting with publishing notifications to the wider community via the City’s social media platforms;
3. City staff is exploring use of Waste Pro “Text-Em-All” notification system to aid in providing additional notification;
4. Assess any adjustments to retain unlimited disposal limits or reduce the amount of bulk that can be left curbside;
5. Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is pending publication by Procurement to advertise solid waste recycling and collection services;
6. Code Compliance enforcement of illegal dumping.
I thank you for your patience as we work to improve this service.
We can’t end the column without providing information regarding our upcoming events:
Mayor’s Free Yoga Sessions continue, every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. through August 28th, then begins again in October at Miramar Town Center, 2300 Civic Center Place, Miramar, FL 33025.
9/11 Memorial Site Dedication – register at miramar911memorial.eventbrite.com
Mayor’s Chess Challenge – Saturday, October 23rd, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Vizcaya Park, 14200 SW 55th St., Miramar 33027.
Mayor Wayne Messam’s Aviation Expo, Saturday, December 4th, Amphitheater at Miramar Regional Park, 16801 Miramar Parkway, Miramar 33027.
