Waste management is a big deal for seniors aging in place.  If you’re going to fix meals and order stuff  from Amazon, you will have lots of trash.  Most everything you get online arrives in a cardboard box.  Grocery products come in cardboard packages, or plastic containers.   You can hire household help for most chores, but it’s not easy finding someone to get your  trash  from point A to B.  And in our case, point C, because the trash can has to be dragged out to the street on pick up day. However,  our Thursday trash pick up was canceled due to the big storm.   Come Friday and Saturday, the cans were still frozen shut.  By  Sunday, we figured the city could send someone to empty our trash. Didn’t happen. Turns out they’re skipping a whole week. Was the waste management company paid for a week of doing nothing?  And do trash collectors owe us a refund?

Here was Republic’s official statement:

“All routes were suspended  due to hazardous conditions caused by inclement weather. Routes will resume on the next regular service day.”

So, instead of picking up one weeks’ worth of trash, they’ll be picking up after two weeks..  Unfortunately, they won’t empty overflowing trash cans.  So,  some of us may  have to find another way to get rid of our pile of extra trash

It may seem like a small matter, but it’s not.

According to Mayor Bennett, the city of Terre Haute has a 2.6 million dollar annual  contract with Republic Services for waste removal   As a result.  Republic receives  around $50,000 a week for trash collection in the city. Since they didn’t have to do anything for one  week, you can look at it as either a bonus or a big cost savings for them. Will they reimburse the city?  I doubt it.

The pathetic thing was the lack of communication.  A statement from the mayor or Republic Services  could have come across the 6 o’clock  news.  But no one in charge told us anything at all.  Only by checking on the internet could you find their official statement.  Word of mouth doesn’t work well when you’re isolated due to a surge in covid cases and a major winter storm.

Does Republic owe the taxpayers a refund?  I think so. Or maybe a bottle of champagne delivered to your door