New garbage, trash & recycling collection services being rolled out September 1st in EBR Parish

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - People who live in East Baton Rouge Parish will soon see some changes to their garbage, trash, and recycling collection come September 1.

The city-parish entered a new contract on March 1 after the Metro Council approved the measure. Under the contract, parish residents, excluding residents in the cities of Baker and Zachary, will experience several policy changes for solid waste collection services.

Upcoming policy changes include service fees for additional garbage carts, modified collection standards for out-of-cart waste, and a transition to dumpster services for multi-family units.

Residents have already seen a fee increase of $12.23 which started in March.

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Beginning in September, households with additional carts will be charged $7 per cart, per month, according to the city-parish. The additional fee will be billed directly through their monthly solid waste, sewer, and water fee bill.

During this transition period, Republic Services has agreed to aid Richard’s Disposal in out-of-cart-trash collection until mid-October.

Many Metro Council members are now looking for more transparency leading up to September 1, to keep residents informed on the new rules.

“The real problem that we’re seeing though as we’re in this transition period is that residents are having a tough time complying with the cart rules,” said Dwight Hudson, Metro Councilman for district 9.

Richard’s Disposal will soon be in charge of picking up debris in front of a home, which Councilman Hudson calls ‘woody waste.’

“And the way the rules work is they require bundling, limbs to be cut to five feet, and no more than 10 piles,” said Hudson.

He’s not the only council member getting bombarded with emails from constituents about the changes.

“They’re actually sending their bills where they have $380 bills, that on their listing with water, with garbage collection, with sewer fees,” said Chauna Banks, Metro Councilwoman for district 2.

“A lot of the feedback was, hey we’re paying more and getting less service, and that’s just the initial reaction that people had,” said Ed Lagucki, President of the Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Civic Associations.

Lagucki believes there needs to be more public meetings to get residents prepared for the changes.

“It seems like every windstorm that comes through Baton Rouge generates a lot of this debris, and they haven’t had to face the reality yet, because it doesn’t start until September 1st.

But when it does, there’s going to be a whole flood of pushback by the parish,” said Lagucki.

Councilman Hudson believes it can be a burden for residents to have to comply with all those out-of-cart rules.

He is looking to propose some changes to the solid waste collection contract agreed upon, to keep the services people have relied on for years now.

“I’d like for the council to revisit the issue. I think we can continue to mitigate the costs, by moving down to once a week. By doing that, it will allow us to bring in additional boom trucks and that sort of thing to address a lot of these piles, which are currently not in compliance with the way our service works,” said Hudson.

If people have an extra cart, make sure to contact us before July 31, 2023.

The city-parish is encouraging residents to learn more about the process by clicking here.

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome released a statement about the Out-Of-Cart Trash:

“Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and her administration are committed to maintaining a clean and safe community for the citizens of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. The administration is aware of the increase in out-of-cart-trash in various areas, particularly in zones with a high density of rental properties.

To combat this situation, the administration is pleased to announce that Republic Services, the City-Parish garbage and recycling bin collection contractor, has volunteered to conduct extra routes to collect accumulated out-of-cart-trash in the Gardere area this coming Sunday, at no additional cost to residents. This gesture is in addition to the extra routes undertaken by Republic Services last Sunday to collect out-0f-cart-trash.

Additionally, Republic Services has committed to support the transition to the new out-of-cart-trash contractor, Richard’s Disposal, by continuing the collection of out-of-cart-trash at no extra cost to residents until mid-October. This dedication reflects our unified goal of preserving the cleanliness of our City-Parish.

As specified in the contracts approved by the Metropolitan Council on December 14, 2022, the responsibility for out-of-cart-trash collection will transition to Richard’s Disposal starting September 1, 2023. A notice detailing the impending changes to out-of-cart-trash collection was disseminated with all residential water bills in February 2023. Since this announcement, there has been a significant upsurge in out-of-cart-trash, frequently infringing upon City-Parish waste management rules. During this period of transition, Republic Services has agreed to aid Richard’s Disposal in out-of-cart-trash collection until mid-October, ensuring a seamless transition for all involved.

In the updated garbage management framework effective September 1, 2023, Richard’s Disposal will be responsible for out-of-cart-trash and Republic Services will continue to handle garbage and recycling bins collection. Waste Management will continue operating the North Landfill.

The Broome administration urges all residents and property owners to comply with the City-Parish garbage services. Misuse of these services, especially the improper disposal of large items, negatively impacts our collective goal of maintaining clean communities.

The administration encourages anyone with questions or concerns about out-of-cart-trash, garbage bin, and recycling bin collection to reach out to the City-Parish Department of Environmental Services at 225-389-4865.

The Broome administration is committed to enhancing the cleanliness of our communities and will continue to focus on efficient collection and code enforcement to address the issue of out-of-cart-trash and illegal junk piles.

For additional information, please contact the Mayor’s office at 225-389-3100 or visit www.brla.gov.”

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