Frustration mounting over waste pickup service in Avon Lake

AVON LAKE — Kimble Companies, which is contracted to provide garbage collection in Avon Lake, was told by city officials to adhere to its contract and do better at picking up materials on time. Delayed pickup of yard waste, trash and recycling has many residents growing increasingly agitated, city officials said Thursday in a meeting of the Avon Lake Public Service Committee. "It's just very frustrating," Mayor Greg Zilka said, "and we don't know what to tell people when we hear these frustrating phone calls as to what wasn't done." Zilka said the city's consortium attorney looked into Kimble's contract with Avon Lake and found several areas in which the company was in "violation by noncompliance." "We want to keep you as our trash hauler," Zilka said. "But we want you to do it in a responsible manner, in a way that you are taking care of the problems." Kimble business development manager Don Johnson said in Thursday's meeting that the company is working hard to pick up residents' waste during a difficult time for the industry. "We're having driver shortages throughout our whole service area, as our competitors are, not only in Ohio but also across the whole country," Johnson said. He later said the company is hiring and pays competitive salaries and benefits. Johnson attended the meeting in person with Joe Sciarretti, who is training to replace Johnson when he moves to another position within the company. Council President Martin O'Donnell urged Johnson to speak with his higher-ups in the company about reducing residents' bills for delayed pickup this month. He asked for an answer by June 4. Zilka agreed that a bill credit might be the best option for Kimble to "go a long way in reinstilling your credibility in the community." Avon Lake switched its provider from Republic Services to Kimble Companies in 2019 after a bidding process in which Republic did not submit a bid for the yard waste component. Johnson said Kimble makes an effort to complete its collection routes, sometimes sending supervisors to finish the work. The next step is asking drivers working in another community to help in Avon Lake after finishing their regular routes, he said. The amount of waste residents set out has increased too, Johnson added, rising 20 percent to 25 percent in 2020 due to many people spending more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. "That takes its toll on what drivers can do on their routes as well," he said. Johnson said if a route is not finished on a particular day, the city is notified by email and an automated call is supposed to be sent to uncollected residents. O'Donnell said he was "not thrilled" about Johnson's responses to Council members' questions and did not believe Kimble had a handle on the situation. "The explanation of what trash companies are dealing with, my residents really don't care and I really don't care," O'Donnell said. At-large Councilman Zach Arnold said he understands the employee shortage, but he told Johnson the situation needs to improve. "I really hope it doesn't happen again because the residents and the city do not deserve this type of service from our trash contractor," Arnold said. Johnson acknowledged that the weeks around Memorial Day are especially busy in the trash collection industry, but he is hopeful there will be enough staff to get the job done. Residents who are experiencing issues are recommended to contact the Kimble customer service line at (800) 201-0005, Sciarretti said. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.