GARBAGE: Don't switch now

Dear Mayor Widmyer and Council Members Gookin, Evans, Miller, English and McEvers,

I am astonished to learn you are considering abandoning Waste Management, a contractor that has admirably proven its value to the residents of Coeur d’Alene.

I have lived in this city 12 years and have always been favorably impressed by the performance of Waste Management and its employees. Having lived in a city where the whole procedure of trash collection was mismanaged and overpaid personnel were sloppy in their work, I appreciate that Waste Management Company and its employees are devoted to excellence in performance.

I believe Waste Management earns every dollar it is paid. Its employees are well-trained and disciplined to represent well their employer and the city of Coeur d’Alene. They take pride in their work. I have seen the drivers in our neighborhood exit their trucks to pick up trash if they see it in a street.

I have personally witnessed how Waste Management drivers handle their jobs when city street plows create three foot and higher snow berms at night after residents set their receptacles at the curb. Our drivers exit their trucks and climb over the berms, drag the cans over the berms, set them down in the street so the mechanical device on the truck can lift them. Once emptied, the drivers again exit their trucks, drag those cans back over the berms to set them at the curb, and then reenter the trucks and go to the next residence and often repeat that cumbersome procedure during winter. Sometimes there are several cans blocked by berms and our drivers have never failed to empty all the cans nor have they complained about the extra work to do so.

Have you noticed Waste Management trucks are clean and they don’t drip oil in our streets? That its drivers are courteous and always wearing clean clothing?

I doubt seriously any company would serve Coeur d’Alene so well as does Waste Management and recommend you revisit the bidding process. In my opinion, Waste Management is the right contractor for Coeur d’Alene and has proven its value during many years. We should stick with what we know serves this city well.

ELLEN ROGERS

Coeur d’Alene