Boone County Commission considers regulating trash pickup after resident complaints

Boone County commissioners said Thursday they’re considering regulating trash pickup in the county after residents experienced delays in pickup from their trash collection company.

Boone County trash disposal is not regulated by the county and is instead contracted out to private companies but Missouri law allows counties to develop rules and regulations to standardize the collection process as they see fit.

A recent delay in pickup by Advanced Disposal without notice to customers has the commission considering that regulatory role.

“We aren’t looking to adopt more rules and regulations, but when situations like this arise you can see the need for county involvement and having requirements on the trash collectors that they at least notify people if they’re not going to pick up the trash,” said presiding commissioner Dan Atwill.

Advanced Disposal took over from AAA Waste Management on July 14 and since that time, concerned customers in both Columbia and Fulton told ABC17 News that their trash had not been picked up.

ABC17 reached out to Advanced Disposal Wednesday about the delay and the company said it lost drivers during the transition. Only two of the seven drivers with AAA joined the Advanced Disposal team and that had caused the delay.

Atwill said the problem lies with the company not informing customers that it was acquiring AAA and that there could be a delay. Some residents said they have gone days or even weeks without their trash being picked up.

“People want to know how long it’s going to be,” said Atwill. “It’s a matter of communication on the part of the company as to what the problem is. That’s not an unfair question.”

Some customers in Boone County said Thursday that when they informed Advanced Disposal that their trash hadn’t been picked up, the company sent someone out to remove the trash and took care of it professionally.

Commissioners worry about those who don’t have the ability to let the company know that their trash is still out. They also worry about what health concerns can happen when trash is left out in the heat and at the mercy of animals.

“We’re hoping the company that’s involved will notify at least us, hopefully all the customers, on what their problem is and how long it’s going to take,” he said.

The Department of Natural Resources said Thursday there are no state regulations requiring notification from trash haulers.

“Frequency of pickup and delayed service is a contract issue,” said communications director Connie Patterson.