Parkland Bulk Trash

Parkland residents and business owners will soon pay more for garbage and recycling pickup.

Waste Management, the city’s waste service provider since 2008, offered Parkland commissioners two possible service packages at a May 15 meeting. The first option would raise the monthly rate charged to residents by five percent, from $35.97 to $37.77, while the second option would raise the rate an estimated 17 percent to approximately $42.08.

Parkland commissioners passed the first reading of an ordinance approving the first option at their May 15 meeting. However, at a June 5 meeting, they put off making a final decision over concerns about pricing and potential changes to how residents’ waste would be picked up.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for June 17.

Under the first plan being weighed by the city, each Parkland residence would receive a 96-gallon rollout cart, with the option of using additional rollout carts for $100 a piece. No limit would be set on the number of carts residents could pay for and place outside for pickup. Parkland residents currently use 64-ounce carts.

The plan would also see Waste Management switch to a fleet of new, automated side-loader trucks to service Parkland. The vehicles would replace the company’s rear-loading trucks and cut the number of workers on each truck from two to one.

Commercial rates for dumpster service under the plan would increase 15 percent in Parkland, from $23.46 to $26.98 per service yard, according to city records.

According to Barbara Herrera, Waste Management’s government affairs manager, residents’ waste service schedules would not change under the first plan.

“Your days will not change,” Herrera said at a recent commission meeting.

“Everyone will have the same service except they will have a cart, and the truck” will be different, Herrera said.

For residents who cannot fit all their waste into their carts, a once-a-week overflow route would be added to pick up smaller amounts of trash and recycling.

The second option proposed by Waste Management would keep the city’s garbage and recycling services the same as they are today but boost the monthly rate charged to residents by 17 percent to account for labor, inflation, supply-chain issues, and other costs.

Commissioners voiced concerns over the price of both proposals.

Waste Management had originally proposed a seven percent increase under the first plan but lowered it to five after several commissioners balked at the price.

“The increase is unfortunate,” Parkand Mayor Rich Walker said.

“I’m sure there will be a learning curve,” he said of residents’ adapting to larger containers and side-loading trucks.

Rates charged to residents under the first plan could also rise or fall in the future.

From October 1, 2025, through October 1, 2028, rates would be adjusted by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for waste. The annual rate adjustment would not exceed five percent in any year or fall below zero.

Under the first plan, Waste Management would contribute $92,500 a year to the city, an increase of $57,500 from its current contribution amount.

The new contract with Waste Management would run from October 2024 until September 2029.

Commissioners have said they plan on staying with Waste Management rather than soliciting proposals from other companies.

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.