Garbage service transition is under way

Residents of Coeur d’Alene should start seeing new garbage carts soon, as the duties of city garbage collection transitions from Waste Management to Coeur d’Alene Garbage next month.

Coeur d’Alene Garbage will officially take over garbage collection for the city of Coeur d’Alene beginning July 1, but the work necessary for smooth transition has already begun.

“Folks may have two carts and two recycle bins for awhile,” City Finance Director Troy Tymesen said Thursday.

Tymesen said residents are encouraged to use the Waste Management carts until July 1, and then start using the new Coeur d’Alene Garbage carts after that.

Phil Damiano, owner of Coeur d’Alene Garbage, said his crewS started delivering the new 96-gallon garbage carts and 64-gallon recycling bins on Monday. He said customers will initially receive the same size carts that they have now, but if customers want to change the size of the carts, they will have to wait until after July 10 to do so.

“We have a blackout agreement with the city,” he said. “There will be no change of service for the last two weeks of June and until July 10.”

He said if a resident already has a garbage cart, he or she will be getting the exact same size. New customers can still request a residential garbage cart or a commercial garbage bin.

Damiano said customers who have 64-gallon or 35-gallon garbage carts are being skipped right now because he is waiting on his supplier to ship those sizes.

“We will have to come back and fill in those gaps when those carts come in,” he said. “We want to urge customers to be patient throughout the transition process.”

Damiano said some residents are already calling Coeur d’Alene Garbage asking them to hold their garbage carts until after July 1. He understands that some customers may have space issues, but so does his company.

Coeur d’Alene Garbage has to bring in and replace 34,000 residential garbage and recycling carts and nearly 1,500 commercial garbage Dumpsters in about a month’s time.

Damiano said even though he has hired 15 new employees, it would be impossible for his crew to deliver those all at once after the company takes over.

Customers who have alley garbage collection service will receive their new carts on the street in front of their house. Damiano said it is being done that way so the people delivering them can properly register the carts to that address.

“We have already put new carts out in some areas and people are already using them. We expected a little bit of that,” Damiano said. “But we would ask customers to read the brochures and rules that come with each cart.”

As for the commercial garbage service, Damiano said the two companies are working together to ensure a smooth transition. Some commercial bins will be swapped out before July 1, but Waste Management will continue to service the bins until the end of their contract.

Steve Roberge, manager of Waste Management, said he is working closely with Coeur d’Alene Garbage to ensure a smooth transition. As soon as he hears that Coeur d’Alene Garbage has placed all of their garbage carts out, he will mobilize his crew to start picking his carts up.

“If I could do it sooner, I would like to start picking up our carts,” he said, adding everyone wants to make sure the transition is seamless. “It’s not going to be easy; I haven’t done this before.”

Roberge said he thinks he can collect all of the carts in about 10 to 15 days after the transition, but if he can start sooner he will.

When the transition is all said and done, Waste Management will still have about 1,250 residential customers in Hayden and Dalton Gardens, plus some commercial accounts.

He said Waste Management will have to downsize, but many of his employees have the option to transfer to another Waste Management location if they are willing to relocate.

But after decades in the business, Roberge, newly elected mayor of Dalton Gardens, said he is not going anywhere.

“I am staying here in Dalton Gardens,” he said.