(Lawrenceville, Ga., June 15, 2021) – Gwinnett County District 1 Commissioner Kirkland   Carden said Gwinnett County trash collection service needs to be improved.

“Since taking office on the Board of Commissioners at the start of this year, I am alarmed by the number of complaints and issues raised by Gwinnett County residents regarding the service, quality and performance of Gwinnett County's trash and recycling services,” said Carden. “These services, performed by private companies contracted by the County and paid by taxpayers, are essential toward maintaining a high quality of life in Gwinnett County. Many residents have experienced a variety of waste management issues ranging from poor customer service to consistent failure of timely trash collection. I am frustrated that the previous Board of Commissioners would enter into a 10-year contract for trash collection service. An agreement of this length is unusual and encourages waste haulers to be less responsive. However, I am committed to holding the haulers accountable to the terms of their contracts.”

Commissioner Carden said in response to the community concerns raised that he wants to implement    the following solutions to address residents’ concerns:

• Track, monitor and report key performance indicators for Gwinnett County's contracted waste management companies such as number of incident calls, average wait time in service desk queue and number of incident calls requiring follow-up. Carden said the key performance indicators would be used to evaluate the performance of the companies so that the County can take corrective action if they are in violation of the terms of the contract.
• Institute a process similar to a “secret shopper” program to provide anonymous customer reviews and performance data collection as it relates to the quality of waste management in the county.
• Establish a Waste Management Oversight Committee as part of Gwinnett County Government with the goal to improve waste management performance and resident satisfaction. Similar to County committees like the Stormwater Authority and the Zoning Board of Appeals, each County commissioner would appoint a representative within their district to the committee. The committee would have oversight of hauler key performance indicator reports, hold public forums, review and recommend future waste management service contracts and hold quarterly meetings with all waste management companies.