NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — It’s a done deal – two new garbage collectors are getting ready to hit the streets in New Orleans.
Those two groups are IV Waste and Waste Pro. IV Waste will be covering will be going Lakeview, Waste Pro is covering the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East. The contracts are set to begin on November 7th and last seven years.
“We have to move forward with these services that these residents deserve,” said Mayor Latoya Cantrell.
Already this month over 3,600 trash cans were delivered to residents in the service areas.
Pick-ups will be Monday through Friday and recycling will be brought back too.
Pick-ups will remain at once a week and sanitation fees will not increase.
“The fee that we all pay to collect garbage is substantial, it does not cover the cost that the city incurs for the contract picking up garbage so we are already in the red, and we are further in the red with onboarding these contracts but the services are necessary,” Cantrell added.
This all happening amid crisis with Metro Services, the current contractor for the areas.
Their contract is frozen after leaders there declared bankruptcy, saying the city violated their contract.
The matter is now being handled in court.
“We filed our motion with the court last evening to lift the automatic stay,” said the Department of Sanitation for the City, Matt Torri. “We are very optimistic we will be in bankruptcy court next week on that motion and again optimistic the court will end favorably on that lift the automatic stay so we can terminate metro’s contract.”
One thing is for sure, residents want their trash picked up on time.
That’s something the new contractors are vowing to do.
“There’s one thing the people don’t have to worry about in the area I’m responsible for your trash will be picked up your recycling will be picked up,” said Sidney Torres with IV Waste. “It will be picked up on time with nothing left behind that you can’t put back on the curb I promise you that.”
Residents should be on the look out next week for information in the mail on trash and recycling collection days.