Residents were eager to voice their concerns at Monday’s city council meeting on a proposed ordinance for a single trash hauler to collect all residential garbage.
The ordinance, which was announced on Oct. 10, was proposed to help the city absolve road wear and tear by having only one truck pick up garbage and to solve issues of residents who refuse to use a trash service and instead use undesignated receptacles as their personal landfill. The issue has since raised much contention due to what some argue is a taking away freedom of choice and putting unnecessary strife against local trash haulers.
More than 200 people packed the building and huddled in a crowd outside. In a somewhat unprecedented move, council members rearranged the agenda to address the trash hauler proposal before other items.
Surveying the teeming crowds, council members decided that in response to the number of people in attendance they motioned unanimously to bring the proposal for a single trash hauler back to the ordinance committee for a review. If the proposal is to continue in the process, there will be appointed public hearings where residents can continue to voice their opinions on the matter.
Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services owner Henry Valkema said that even though he does business in several other cities, Niles is at the center of what the company does and a large part of the people that his business at 33541 Reum Road works to serve.
“It is our city. It is our heart,” Valkema said. “It is the heart of what we do. Niles is our core. We are based out of Niles and this is our location. This is our home town.”
Valkema said that he had been expressing his discontent with the proposal and rallying support on Facebook, as well as talking about the issue with customers. That rallying paid off, as it seemed that a number of the residents who showed up did so to express support for Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services.
Valkema said as far as reducing the amount of wear and tear on the roads, his company already aids in wear reduction by picking up both recycling and garbage in one truck.
“No one else does what we do,” Valkema said.
Councilman Dan VandenHeede praised the turnout and said the city wanted to make a decision based on the greater good for Niles residents. The audience booed in response.
“For me this is not necessarily taking away the free market,” VandenHeede said. “This allows competitive bids. Right now you have no market power as an individual. What this allows us to do is see if we can do better for you guys.”
VandenHeede said if the proposal were accepted, Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services would be allowed to put out their own bid to be the designated trash hauler, just like every other trash company. He also said the city was looking to reduce the cost of trash pickup between $9 and $10 a month to try and save residents money.
“You can get them into a two [or] three year contract, where the price will stay the same,” VandenHeede said. “All we are doing is looking at the option of doing this.”
There were several main concerns reiterated by residents who attended the meeting.
One was that the city cited a benefit in reducing the amount of garbage in the Berrien County landfill, but many residents took issue with the fact that the ordinance does not provide a plan for recyclable materials.
Jan Personette, of Niles, asked city council members to consider how much it would benefit everyone to keep the most amount of trash out of the landfill. She said through Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services, she doesn’t have to worry about recyclable material sitting in a landfill, because the company offers recycling and garbage services and breaks down garbage materials for additional recyclables.
“All I have to do is put my recyclable stuff in the dumpster,” Personette said. “If Henry can make more money on recyclables so be it.”
Another main issue was the fact that Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services, which employees at least 160 people, would lose significant business, thus hurting jobs if they were not selected for the bid.
Trina Bailey, of Buchanan, who works for Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services emphasized this point.
“We live, breathe, eat, sleep and shop in Niles and the surrounding areas,” Bailey said. “What do we do for the city of Niles? We faithfully serve customers through rain, sleet, ice and snow.”
Additionally, she mentioned that Michiana Recycling & Disposal Services is unique because of its system to make one stop out of collecting recyclables and garbage.
“That is half the fossil fuel, half the wear and tear on the roads and that is half the pollution,” Bailey said. “Recycling and sustainability is the future. Michiana’s innovative system is the future and yet the ordinance we are asked to vote on seems to be more interested in filling your landfill.”
Finally, residents emphasized that they felt their freedom to choose was being infringed upon.
“Why should you destroy free enterprise?” one man asked. “This nation was based on free enterprise.”
He asked audience members to raise their hands if they had not been notified about the ordinance and when many did, he quipped, “Something smells like the trash.”
After nearly 50 residents had voiced their concerns, some speaking more than once, council members thanked everyone for attending.
City Administrator Ric Huff said he was glad to see so many people turn out to voice their opinions.
“If we can get more people to take an interest in our local government and come to meetings and voice their opinions it is a lot easier to make decisions,” Huff said.
The proposal is now in the hands of the ordinance committee. If the proposal is going to continue, public hearings will be incorporated into the decision-making process.