Neighbors around St. Paul are organizing their block to use one garbage hauler in an effort to improve the quality of life on the block by reducing the number of trucks which in turn reduces pollution, noise and wear on the alleys and streets. In many cases, a larger group of neighbors using the same hauler can negotiate a lower price.
The information in this section has been gathered from the experience of neighbors in St. Anthony Park and elsewhere in Saint Paul. Particular thanks is owed to Todd Seabury-Kolod and the Mac Groveland Neighborhood for their contribution of materials and expertise.
The St. Anthony Park Community Council does not endorse any particular garbage hauler. If you have decided to organize your block, please let us know by contacting us. Thanks for your interest.
St. Paul residents are free to choose their garbage collectors, but some are trying to organize neighbors around a single hauler to reduce the number of trucks rumbling through their roads.
Mary Hamel did something recently that few people do: She thought about her garbage. Specifically, she thought about the different trucks driving down her alley every week, picking up trash. It didn't seem to make sense.
There are 64 licensed garbage haulers operating in St. Paul, and some weeks it seems that a dozen ofthem are driving down many of the alleys in town.
Todd Seabury-Kolod's revolution is only two blocks long. But his victory is easy to see: Lining the alley are rows of identical trash bins - most bearing the same garbage hauler's name. Before Seabury-Kolod's crusade, trucks from seven haulers barreled through his alley in Macalester-Groveland.
Below you will find many sample letters that you are free to alter to meet your needs. Please send us your letters to post if you have written one.
Download Word version
Jon Schumacher sent this letter to his neighbors (and succesfully organized his block)
Dear 4C (Como, Carter, Chelmsford, Commonwealth) neighbors,
We talked at our block party yesterday about an idea that had come up a few weeks earlier among some of us: uniting behind one trash hauler. I was charged by the collective council of neighbors who stayed way beyond the announced end time of the event, to collect some info and see if we can’t find a hauler that would meet the needs we decided were most important. They are as follows:
I had done enough research so that I presented a list of haulers who are licensed to work in our area:
Aspen
Allied Waste
Waste management
Veolia
Horrigan
Highland
Aspen is partly local, the next three are national and multi-national and the final two are completely local. In our alley, we have mostly AW with on Aspen, two WM, and one Horrigan’s.
As I said, these were the priorities and companies mentioned by the group of neighbors last night, if you have additional concerns, or know of other haulers working in the neighborhood you would like us to consider, please let me know. The criteria we selected are all offered by the various haulers, we just put together our ala carte dream. I can tell you the bigger firms divide their waste between land fill and burning for energy, the local ones both burn. Without getting into a long conversation there are fierce environmentalists who argue on either side of the burning/landfill question.
Our plan is to send a letter to each of these haulers sharing our criteria and asking for a price based on delivering most of our block. We will give them a date when we will need to hear back and will choose the hauler that delivers on the most criteria and the lowest price. We realize not everyone will agree on a final choice, but hope most will to lessen the noise and air pollution caused by having a minimum of 4 trucks come into our alley every week (separate trucks pick up the yard waste, etc.)
To aid in negotiating a price, it would be helpful if you could email the current hauler you use and the price they charge. It was interesting last night to find that some of us who use the same hauler and cart size pay different prices. Please give me the total per month bill you pay including the taxes and fees - if you can send the break down that might help as well – and the cart size (usually 35, 65 and 95 gallons.)
Thanks to everyone for their cooperation. If we can do this, I think it would be a great thing for the block, neighborhood and planet!
Dear neighbors,
I just got off the phone with Aspen and here’s how the transfer should work. We all have different billing cycles with our haulers; some end in a few days, ours ends Sept 30, some of you are committed until the end of October. That’s okay, you will get the block price whenever you are able to switch. If you already have Aspen, your new lower rate should appear on your next bill.
Before your billing cycle is up, you each need to call Aspen at 612-884-8008 and tell them you are part of the “Schumacher Block” and would like to sign-up for service. (If there’s any problem, Jeff is the guy who I’ve set this up with.) Select whichever size cart you want and whether or not you want to get the yard waste option. Just to refresh your memories, the total (tax is included in the numbers) prices are as follows:
35 gallon Service $14.46/mo
65 gallon service $15.85/mo
95 gallon service $17.22/mo
Annual yard waste fee is $74.95 (total cost) or $2.50 per bag if you don’t want the annual rate. Yard waste service is from April-November.
If you currently have already paid for annual yard waste pick-up, once you change haulers, that hauler will probably not come back just to pick up yard waste and honor the rest of your contract. So, if you want unlimited yard waste pick-up for this fall you will have to sign up for that with Aspen. Aspen is willing to offer a reduced rate of $54.95 for the remainder of this year so your loss will be cushioned somewhat. You will also be saving money on the three free months for your first year, so that will help as well. You can try to get your current hauler to refund a prorated amount, but my guess is they won’t see any reason to do that once they know you are switching.
Other info:
I am attaching the bid Aspen sent over so you have the offers in hand and can make sure you are getting the deal right. Please share any questions or concerns, but know that this is the deal we accepted and it will be in place for 18 months, although the contract is for 1 year. We can always reconsider at that time.
Thanks again for you cooperation, I look forward to a reduction in noise, traffic and carbon emissions,
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Dear Hauler,
Our block - Como, Carter, Chelmsford, Commonwealth in St. Anthony Park - would like to consolidate our trash hauling to one company. After preliminary conversations with representatives of your company and other local haulers, these are the criteria we have selected as being important:
I have checked with all 21 of our alley residents and they have agreed to participate provided the new rates are more favorable than their current agreement.
We will make our decision based on lowest price and most criteria met. We would like to have your offer by__________________.
Thank you very much for your cooperation, we look forward to the opportunity for a mutually beneficial relationship.
HELLO NEIGHBORS!
Nancy and I have decided to continue the discussion of the high number of trash haulers in our alley between Hamline and Albert.
We would like to acknowledge and thank Rebecca on Wellesley Ave for the initiation of this charge, weeks ago, when she sent out a letter to all of us.
Lets do this... lets make a change in our alley.
I'm glad to report that I'll be saving 20 dollars per month by switching from Veolia to Highland Sanitation. Please note that Veolia reimbursed me, some may not.
Please call to see. They may suggest matching monthly costs, however that doesn't meet our highest objectives...noise and emissions.
Currently we have four homes using Highland. No one appears to be using Berquist, so we suggest we all look at Highland. By doing so the high number of homes may reduce our prices (see attached price lists)
If choosing Highland ask for the Anne Scheller block rate quote. This is not a mandatory request, however there have been several alleys in St. Paul that have done this and have been successful. Lets think of this as one little thing we can do to make big difference.
Thank you for reading this and considering this thoughtful and worthy suggestion.
Thinking about Trash!
Howdy Neighbors -
Over the years, several of the Montrose-Mount Curve neighbors have discussed the idea of working together to consolidate the trash hauling for the alley between the two streets. The goal would be to align ourselves primarily with one trash hauler.
The main advantages of doing so would include:
People have also mentioned an eagerness to identify and make use of local haulers, rather than give their business to large national or multi-national firms.
With all this in mind, we've done some research. Tables 1 and 2 (attached) show the results. . . Table 1 shows the current situation - how many of the alley neighbors are currently signed up with the listed haulers. Table 1 also gives background information on those haulers - where they're based, where they operate, how big
they are, what they do with the trash, etc.
Table 2 shows the "block rates" that local haulers would offer us. Rates are given only for the local haulers currently engaged by alley neighbors. The assumption is that if there is to be. consolidation, people will generally prefer 1) a local hauler over a national or multi-national firm, and 2) using one of the local firms already being employed by alley neighbors.
This information is provided to give you a chance to think about the idea in advance of the alley cleanup and picnic this Saturday May 12. We plan to have some discussion of the idea of consolidating trash haulers at the picnic. So do bring your ideas, questions, comments, and concerns.
See you Saturday!
The Alley Committee
Below are some notes from neighbors who have worked with haulers that serve the neighborhood or information that we have gathered. The small local haulers we know of who serve St. Anthony Park are: Highland Sanitation & Recycling, Gene's Disposal, Mudek Sanitary Hauling, and Krupenny and Sons. AW/BFI and Veolia are not locally owned, Aspen is Twin Cities-based but is much larger than the other local small haulers. If you have more information, please send it to us.
The following information is from a neighbor who lives on Ludlow south of Blake.
Here is what they sent me but also some additional facts that I know because we have been customers for so long and have had excellent service. To receive their block rate, they would like 75% of families on the block to sign up. They did give it to us without quite 75%, maybe because they knew I have worked on it for some weeks.
The following is a block rate bid for your neighborhood:
35 Gal: 13.00 + 1.27 State Waste Tax + 3.64 County Env. Chg = $17.91
60 Gal: 15.00 + 1.56 State Waste Tax + 4.20 County Env. Chg = $20.76
90 Gal: 17.00 + 1.66 State Waste Tax + 4.76 County Env. Chg = $23.42
This is for weekly pickup on the curb or in the alley. If you have any questions or would like to sign up for service, please call us at 651-458-0043.
(651) 426-1224
35 Gal: 14.00 + taxes
60 Gal: 16.00 + taxes
90 Gal: 19.00 + taxes
If 50-60% of the block signs up they will give about a 20% discount.
There are no startup or cancel fees, they will give vacation credit for a two week minimum.
Will serve south of Energy Park Drive.
Block rates:
32 Gal: 13.00 + taxes = $39.26 every two months
64 Gal: 15.00 + taxes = $44.77 every two months
96 Gal: 16.00 + taxes = $46.99 every two months
Your own can up to 45 Gal: 12.00 + taxes = $36.50 every two months
They bill every two months. There are no start up or cancel fees with 60 days notice; they will give vacation credit for a two week minimum. The base rate is guaranteed for a year.
35 gallon Service $14.46/mo
65 gallon service $15.85/mo
95 gallon service $17.22/mo
This is from a neighbor who lives on Commonwealth east of Como.
Not a local business
Destination: 80 landfill /20 burn
32 gallon: $18.26
68 gallon: $19.88
95 gallon: $21.48
or $5 off current
2 yr contract
No cancel, start or cart change fees
Vacation: 2 week minimum
No guarantees
Yard: $75
Need 10 new accounts, not do-able w/ only 6 not AW
I would just add that AW/BFI’s reaction to our inquiry was to negotiate with me while trying to get neighbors behind my back to sign longer term contracts at their existing rates. They also falsely told a neighbor they had a signed commitment from the neighbor she couldn’t get out of. When the neighbor asked to be sent a copy of this document, the AW employee admitted it did not exist. They were by far the sleaziest company to deal with.
As the buzz grows about organizing alleys for a single hauler, more blocks are faced with a collective decision about which hauler to choose, and many are rightfully concerned about what happens to their trash after it leaves the curb. Garbage in Saint Paul is either landfilled or burned. The larger, corporate haulers mostly use landfills, and the smaller operations are contracted to take their trash to the Newport Resource Recovery Facility. (Resource Recovery, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), and waste-to-energy are all fancy names for good old fashioned trash burning with more or less sorting and emissions controls thrown in.)
St Anthony Park has learned plenty about the problems with garbage incineration. When the Rock-Tenn paper recycling plant needed a new energy source and RDF was considered, neighbors organized all over Saint Paul and Minneapolis to find a safer solution. In the process, we learned that burning waste spews pollution into the air and creates toxic ash that has to be… landfilled. The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, which is now in the process of attempting to expand their capacity by 20%, is responsible for over 50% of dioxins emitted statewide. That's a lot of cancer.
But landfills also produce the greenhouse gas methane, which may or may not be captured. And they inevitably leach a nasty stew of toxics into the groundwater.
Yes, someone could do a study and perhaps make a complicated call on whether Newport is better or worse than the Wisconsin and Iowa landfills that receive our Minnesota trash. But the fact is, they both suck. And that kind of calculation fails to address the greatest evil, which is a system that generates waste at all.
Is garbage a potentially never-ending source of fuel? Although garbage is classified as a renewable energy source by many states, most of the energy created through incineration is from plastics. Which are made from fossil fuels.
So what to do? In the long run, choosing a local hauler will support the local economy and siphon power from the big corporations like Waste Management and Allied Waste. They're the ones that have the money to lobby and maintain the current system on regional, state and federal levels. Even though the small haulers go to Newport, they present much less of a threat to a democratic revolution in the way we conceptualize, create and dispose of waste. Those companies could even be part of a local zero waste economy.
Individuals can drastically minimize their waste through careful reuse, purchasing, composting, and recycling. But the real solution, of course, is at the policy level. Eureka Recycling, the non-profit recycler for Saint Paul and many suburbs, has been leading the way on this issue locally. With a mission to reach a waste-free tomorrow by demonstrating that “waste is preventable, not inevitable” Eureka catalogued many proven policy tools being implemented all over the world, including extended producer responsibility, curbside composting pickup, unit-based pricing and municipal purchasing policies.
While the policy wheels chug and the zero waste grassroots movement builds, neighbors in Saint Paul can act now to take back their blocks from the five, six or seven different trucks a week charging through their alleys. Don’t get paralyzed by the dilemma of selecting a hauler and a final destination for your trash. Keeping your eye on the prize of zero waste, organize for a single hauler and help your block immediately realize the benefits of reduced air and noise pollution, less wear and tear on the alleys, and safer streets.
In Saint Paul, residents hire their own garbage hauler. Garbage haulers are required to offer volume-based rates to their customers. For example, customers pay more for a 45-gallon garbage can than a 30-gallon garbage can. When comparing prices among haulers, make sure to compare both volumes and prices. Some haulers may quote the price for a 30-gallon can, while others may quote the price for a 45-gallon can. Volume-based fees help the environment because they encourage people to reduce their trash and provide an economical incentive for those that do.
Unfortunately, some garbage haulers do not offer a lower rate for volumes less than one 30-gallon can. However, you may still have some options to pay less.