Birmingham suburbs give private trash company another chance: ‘Confidence is earned’

The private company responsible for trash collection in several Birmingham-area suburbs won’t get the ax for now, as it promises to improve service in the face of mounting complaints from residents.

Leaders from the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, a collective of eight suburban cities, today met with representatives of Amwaste to discuss how the company will resolve problems to avoid financial penalties or contract cancellations.

“There’s a way to work the solution out through the authority,” said J.J. Bishoff, chief of staff to Homewood Mayor Patrick McClusky. “There have been a lot of hiccups, I will admit that, but I think with this meeting today, there’s a plan going forward and we’ll be able to work out any problems to their satisfaction.”

In the end, suburban mayors and other city leaders said they were pleased the company had a plan and was already working to enhance service.

Residents in Homewood have particularly been vocal in their frustration with Amwaste’s service since the city signed on about six months ago.

Bishoff said he expected the company to resolve its issues within the next 60 days.

News of the meeting generated guarded optimism from residents.

“This is the first substantial step in the right direction because they are not just standing up in front of a council committee saying ‘we’re going to work on it’ or apologizing,” said Liz Ellaby, founder of the Facebook group Homewood City Voters. “Now something is going to get done.”

Rick Sweeney, Amwaste’s district manager, said the company is adding a third shift at its maintenance shop, seeking to lease workspace from member cities, and is building a new workshop near Interstate 22 and Daniel Payne Drive in Birmingham.

Sweeney said the company has adequate staff. He said the changes Amwaste is making will alleviate equipment issues and improve their capacity to quickly repair and return trucks to the road.

”We need more bay space for preventive and reactive maintenance,” he said.

He expects the new shop to open by April.

The city officials gathered in Hoover for a roundtable discussion with Sweeney, as he laid out his plan for remediation.

Service complaints were not universal. Comments from authority members from Trussville, Pelham, Vestavia Hills, and Fultondale were largely favorable to Amwaste. However, leaders noted that each city had its own unique circumstances with population, terrain and frequency of service needed.

Officials from member cities said Amwaste has already made service improvements following a disastrous lack of service during the holiday season in Hoover and elsewhere.

“We’ve got a week’s worth of pickups that have been going really, really well,” said Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato. “Let’s keep that going.”

Brocato said he wants to see Amwaste maintain that level of service without cities having to complain.

“We don’t want that to be a reaction to a lot of fussing from us. We want to make sure they can sustain that throughout their contract,” he said.

Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority was created in 2023 as a collaboration among Birmingham area cities to pool resources and get the best options for garbage service. There are eight member cities in Jefferson and Shelby Counties.

Blake Miller, chairman of the Cahaba Solid Waste Authority, said recent improvements have left him encouraged.

“Amwaste has recognized some serious issues that we have experienced and Amwaste is working through that,” said Miller, who is also a Hoover city employee. “The evidence they are working through it is the greatly-reduced amount of tickets that have come in since the new year.”

Jefferson County is not a member of the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, but the county commission does contract with Amwaste for garbage serving in the unincorporated portions of the county. The commission also recently met with Amwaste to discuss frustration with its service and delays during the holiday season where Sweeny presented a similar remedy.

Sweeny said Amwaste is on the upswing regarding service, apologized to customers and asked for another chance.

“We’ve got the folks that can do it,” Sweeney said today. “Have confidence in us. Confidence is earned. Nobody wants to go out and do a bad job. They are in this to serve people.”