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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Two new companies hit he streets Monday, picking up New Orleans trash.

Waste Pro and IV Waste are taking over trash collection in areas that were once covered by Metro Services. Homeowners have been waiting for this day.

“With the start of the new service area 2 and service area 3 curbside collection contracts today, there was a genuine feeling of excitement across the city,” said Matt Torri, Department of Sanitation Director.

Sanitation pickup has made for a tumultuous year in New Orleans, after the pandemic and Hurricane Ida. Waste Pro and IV Waste began pickups with a promise to keep up.

This new beginning didn’t come without controversy after Metro filed a lawsuit against the city for breach of contract.

“You’re finally gonna get what you’re paying for. When the garbage is picked up on time on the day you’re supposed to be picked up, and the recycling is picked up I think and I believe that it’s gonna really help that people know that when the trash day comes and the trash man is supposed to be there he’s going to be there to pick it up,” Sidney Torres IV, IV Waste.

When Mayor Latoya Cantrell announced the new contract a few months back, she also promised that the new companies would use technology to deliver a service we hadn’t seen before.

“We first pull up the GPS and we see that the truck was there, what time, we let the residents know and then we’ll pull up the camera footage and say your can wasn’t out or your can was out, and we know how to deal with that with the drivers and the guys in the back,” Sidney Torres IV, IV Waste.

Recycling also started in service areas 2 and 3 today but the start of the contracts came with a bit of controversy as last week the city council voted against funding the 2 new contracts, while still having to legally pay for the litigated contract of the former trash contractor Metro, Torri says he’s confident the city will work through these challenges.

“I think what the city said is to focus on that enhanced level of service, and we’ll figure out the cost stuff as we continue to go through this process,” Matt Torri, Department of Sanitation Director.