NORTH PROVIDENCE – Representatives from MEGA Management (MTG Disposal) are blaming at least some complaints about substandard pickups in town on a driver who was being too friendly.
At the June 2 North Providence Town Council meeting, Dave Werkema, district manager for the company, said they were able to identify some addresses during a previous meeting and came to the conclusion that all had the same route in common.
Werkema said they’re happy the driver on that route is a friendly one, but he needs “to be friendly and pick up trash.” He said they’re bringing back one of their most senior drivers to take over that route, he said, and after a vacation, that person is expected to start work on Wednesday, June 10.
On the “trash side of the house,” the main problem should be resolved, Werkema said.
Residents have continued to complain about poor performance from MEGA in recent years, a trend also seen in other communities serviced by the waste collection company.
Regarding complaints about missed yard waste pickups, Werkema said part of the issue they see every year North Providence is that “eager beavers” start their yard work early and by the time they start collecting curbside on April 1, there’s a lot out there and they end up having to collect a month’s worth of materials. If the town would like them to do so, he said, they’ll start putting out a couple of 30-yard dumpsters wherever officials would like, for free, to help them get a jump on yard waste season, he said.
He also suggested that the town start enforcing its 8-bag limit for yard waste “to give everyone a fair shot” of having their materials collected. This would surely lead to complaint calls, he said, as people who for years have had their nine bags collected, and now would only have eight of them collected, wouldn’t be happy.
Asked what the typical standard is for number of bags, Werkema said it’s usually between eight and 10.
Werkema acknowledged complaints about getting no responses from the MEGA team. He said that’s a personal pet peeve and he hates it, but some of it might have to do with incorrect contact information. He said he would make sure the council has the correct information for the representative in charge of North Providence routes.
Responding to Werkema describing North Providence as one of the quieter towns for complaints, Council President Dino Autiello asked the MEGA respresentative to please help them out, saying councilors are consistently bombarded with complaint calls.
Ronald Marcello, a senior resident who has Friday pickup service, told Werkema at the June 2 meeting that the company doesn’t know what it’s doing. He said there’s no reason the route shouldn’t get done that day, even if they have to come by.
Werkema took down Marcello’s contact information, responding that there are times when a Friday driver runs out of time and they have to send a different driver back on Saturday. He said having a more senior driver on the route will ensure that the work gets done more quickly.
