Reader delivers a little trash talk about the number of Rochester waste haulers - Rochester Post Bulletin

Reader delivers a little trash talk about the number of Rochester waste haulers - Post Bulletin | Rochester Minnesota news, weather, sports

Reader delivers a little trash talk about the number of Rochester waste haulers

Eleven haulers operate in Olmsted County.

Dear Answer Man: Why does Rochester have so many residential waste removal companies when most other cities contract one? Doesn’t all the trash go to the same place? With so many service providers, doesn’t it wreak havoc at the Waste to Energy Station, not to mention cause unnecessary traffic and noise in neighborhoods where multiple companies are collecting waste? — Trash Talker.

Dear Garbage Gabber,

So, right off the bat you've got an incorrect assumption. Right up the road in Pine Island — population about 3% of Rochester's — has three haulers. Byron — about 5.2% of Rochester's size — has two. Kasson — 5.6% of Rochester — has five.

Eyota — 1.7% — has just one.

Why do I mention population size? Well, because it seems the number of residents a town has is related (somewhat) to the number of haulers.

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More specifically, the number in each city, according to Anthony Wittmer, communication specialist for Olmsted County Environmental Resources, the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners has set the number of available waste hauling licenses within the Olmsted County Ordinance.

"Olmsted County currently has an open-hauling system encouraging competition among multiple haulers," Wittmer said. "This approach was adopted in response to residents' concerns about the cost of residential trash hauling services, which had been influenced by limited competition."

That's a polite way of saying limiting the supply led to increased prices.

Now, that doesn't mean it's a free-for-all out there. There are three types of waste hauler licenses granted by the county. The one that picks up your curbside trash and recycling is a Class A hauler. The county limits the number of Class A haulers to 12, according to Section 3504.02 sub 1A of the county's Hauler Licensing and Registration ordinance.

If more than 12 companies apply, the county has a scoring system that picks haulers based on objective criteria.

"Alternatively, cities within Olmsted County have the authority to contract with a specific number of haulers if they choose to do so," Wittmer said. "As you mentioned, the City of Eyota has opted to contract with a single hauler."

Whether this approach makes sense varies from one community to another. Some communities prefer the competitive landscape multiple haulers create, while others may opt for a contracted arrangement, he said.

And as far as how the number of haulers impacts the Olmsted Waste-to-Energy Facility, well, Wittmer said, it does not.

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"The OWEF has the capacity to handle the waste waste generated in Olmsted County regardless of which company transports it to the facility," he said.

As for noise? Well, trash hauling by the ordinance is restricted to certain parts of the city on certain days. Now, if you and your neighbors utilize multiple companies, you might see multiple haulers on a given day. However, they can only come on certain days to your neighborhood. For example, the ordinance states haulers must collect on Mondays in the southeast and northeast quadrants; Tuesdays in the southeast and northeast quadrants; Wednesdays in the southwest quadrant; Thursdays in the northwest quadrant; and Fridays in the northwest quadrant.

So, if you live in the northwest quadrant, for example, garbage haulers will only disturb your peace (while removing your waste and recycling) on Thursdays or Fridays.

Finally, and Answer Man doesn't have any facts to back this up, but I'd imagine if only one hauler was licensed for Rochester, it wouldn't reduce the number of trucks or traffic. Logically, the same amount of garbage and recycling must be collected from the same number of homes, so the number of trucks needed to accomplish this feat is going to be the same.

I do hope this settles the question for you. Either way, you can revel in this fact: Of all the questions Answer Man receives each week, yours did not end up in the bin.

Declutter your mind. Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com.

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