Trash piling up in Hudson as local waste management company goes silent

HUDSON, Iowa — The city is seeking new trash collection options after months of complaints about delayed pickups from Black Hawk Waste Disposal.

Hudson Mayor Hector Baldiviezo said the city is reviewing other service providers after hearing concerns from residents and businesses. For months, people in the Cedar Valley have reported delays with Black Hawk Waste Disposal.

Brian Hargens, owner of Hudson Animal Clinic, said his business and a nearby grocery store have dealt with repeated missed pickups. He said the problems started over the summer.

“Both us and the grocery store have used Blackhawk waste for years to pick up our trash here, and then this summer they just failed us,” Hargens said. “Coming into the Hudson Days celebration we had not received trash pick up for at least 10 days.”

After trying to get answers from Black Hawk Waste, the clinic switched to Cooley Waste Management. But Hargens said getting the company to remove its dumpsters has been difficult.

“Yeah we sent out a request on July 20 for them to pick up the dumpsters that were here that we were gonna switch trash services,” Hargens said. “We actually sent them out a registered letter and the letter got returned to us requesting them to come pick up the dumpsters and we still have not had the dumpsters picked up, and here we are almost a month and a half after that.”

Hargens said customers just want transparency from the company. He said communication about the delays would help people understand what’s happening.

“If they would’ve come out and said, ‘Well we were having transportation, equipment, problems, or labor problems,’–something like that–I think maybe everybody might understand it a little bit better, but there’s absolutely no communication from them,” Hargens said.

After a city council meeting this week, Baldiviezo said he’s ready to move on from Black Hawk Waste. In a statement, the mayor said the concerns are valid.

“Hudson residents and business owners are frustrated over repeated disruptions in trash service,” Baldiviezo said. “Those concerns are valid and we are reviewing other options to determine the best path forward for our community.”

Attempts to reach Black Hawk Waste Disposal for comment were unsuccessful. The local office referred questions to corporate, but multiple calls to the corporate office went unanswered.

The city is seeking new quotes for trash collection as it reviews options for waste removal services.