Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash
On June 9, the city of Flint officially notified Republic Services that it is in breach of its contract for widespread service failures. The letter demands Republic restore all service throughout the city and fulfill its contractual obligations to provide trash, recycle and yard waste pickup every week for every Flint household.
Republic acknowledged to the city of Flint on May 29 that residents were experiencing service delays. In repeated conversations with members of the administration, Republic pledged to finish picking up all trash and recycling by May 30 and catch up on all yard waste pickups on June 5.
Still, the city continues to see curbs filled with uncollected trash. In fact, the city provided Republic with multiple examples of residents who indicated their trash hadn’t been properly picked up for as long as four weeks.
“This is simply unacceptable,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. “They were hired to do a job, and they owe it to the residents of Flint to do their jobs. We aren’t asking for extras or for special treatment. We just want the trash picked up-all of it, every week. We want what we paid for.”
After Republic failed to meet either of its self-selected deadlines, the city of Flint put Republic on notice that it is in breach of contract and demanded that Republic resume weekly collection of trash, recycling and yard waste. The letter also requires Republic notify the city of Flint and residents of any further service disruptions within 24 hours and notifies Republic not to invoice for any waste collection services that were not performed.
Residents who are continuing to experience service delays can report these issues to (810) 410-1134. Those calling after hours or who do not get an answer should leave a message with their names, phone numbers and the address where service was missed.
