Garbage hauler’s been cleaning up on overfilled bins

By Tony Cook

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Republic Services has been ignoring county law and improperly charging property managers a penalty fee for overfilled trash containers — a practice it says it will halt unless it has the photos to prove garbage was spilling from the bins.

The garbage company’s area president, Bob Coyle, acknowledged Wednesday that Republic has been disregarding county code. He blames property managers who he says aren’t willing to pay for the appropriate level of service at their apartment complexes.

Property managers say it’s the latest example of Coyle’s breaking the rules.

Republic began charging a fee for overfilled garbage containers two years ago. At that time, the company paid its drivers $4 for each photograph showing trash piled above the lip of a garbage container. Republic would then send the property managers a copy of the photo and charge a $50 “overflow” fee.

The practice caused controversy on several levels: Property managers said it encouraged drivers to skip pickups to create overflows, and Republic is permitted to charge only those fees outlined in county code, which before December 2006 contained no provision for an overflow fee.

After a Sun story highlighting the practice in June 2006, Republic stopped paying drivers for the photos they take. In December 2006 a deal was struck under which Republic refunded $300,000 to property managers, and local government codes were changed to allow overflow fees and expand garbage pickup options. The fee allowed was set at about $30.

In recent months, though, tensions have again reached a boiling point.

The new county code defines an overflow as garbage piled so high that it “will spill onto the ground in the emptying process, requiring more than minimal manual cleanup of waste from the ground.”

In short, if trash doesn’t fall onto the ground, there is no overflow.

Republic’s Coyle said the company had been charging fees for overfilled containers even if no trash fell onto the ground. It’s a safety issue, he said.

But property managers say Republic is just out for profit.

“This man does not care about any agreement he makes with the city or the county,” said Barbara Holland, president of H&L Realty, which manages about 5,000 residential units in the valley. “People are being charged $30 overages when it doesn’t meet the definition of the law.”

She said her properties have been charged more than $1,800 since March.

Mike Harwell, franchise manager for Clark County, said Republic agreed last week to change how it proves overflow violations.

Republic had been taking one photograph of the overfilled container and a second photograph after the container was emptied and the ground around it cleaned up.

Property managers said the photos failed to prove that trash had spilled onto the ground.

Harwell said Republic agreed last week to take the second photo after the container has been emptied, but before the cleanup of any debris that might fall out during the emptying process.

Coyle initially told the Sun this week that he would not change the way photographs are taken. After Harwell learned of Coyle’s statements from the Sun, he contacted Coyle, who then told the Sun he would change how the photos are taken.

Coyle also said he will be issuing credits to some property managers who have complained — but said they share responsibility for the problem.