Your trash service is NOT ending on Monday.
We’ve heard from many residents who were told trash collection stops on October 26. That is not true. Here are the facts about Ordinance No. 854:
• Keep using your current hauler. The ordinance takes effect October 26, but nothing changes on your collection day. Your hauler will keep picking up your trash as usual.
• It gives Council an option; it doesn’t force a change. The ordinance lets City Council choose a single trash and recycling hauler for the whole city. It does not require Council to do so, and it does not fine haulers who keep serving their customers.
• A single hauler contract is not in place yet. This will take time and the public will have opportunity to comment as the council goes through the next steps. Council still has to award a bid, negotiate and approve a contract, and decide how the service will be funded. Each of those steps will happen at a public Council meeting, and residents are welcome to comment.
• You’ll get notice before anything changes. Once a contract is approved, a months-long period of public notice and education follows. Carts will be bought and delivered before the new service begins.
• Property owners must keep trash service in place. That stays true until the citywide service starts. If your hauler ends your agreement early, you will need to find another. If you have prepaid, that is between you and your hauler, because the City is not a party to those agreements.
Why is the City doing this? Michigan law (Part 115) requires cities our size to offer curbside recycling to 90% of single-family homes by 2028. The master plan calls for a citywide trash and recycling service that can lower residents’ garbage bills, add recycling, and reduce the number of garbage trucks on our streets each week.