New service contract for Acadia Parish garbage collection

The Acadia Parish Police Jury will continue to furnish its weekly garbage collection services to all parish residents and eligible businesses as it has in the past, but under a new service contract with Waste Connections, Inc. (WCI).
Garbage collection under the new contract with WCI will begin on March 1.
Under the new contract WCI is required to furnish one new cart to all customers. Customers who now have more than the one cart furnished by the Acadia Parish Police Jury are advised they will be allowed to keep and use the other carts that were already purchased by them from the contractor.
WCI, Inc., shall communicate and cooperate with those customers to determine which cart to remove and replace and which cart(s) shall remain.
The process of swapping out the old carts with new carts was expected to begin around Feb. 5 and continue for about two months. During February and March, the public should expect to see WCI crews working parish-wide as they simultaneously pick up the old carts and drop off the new carts, all while the old carts are being emptied.
During this time it will be necessary for all customers to put their carts out for pick up on their regular garbage collection days, whether empty or full, so the old carts intended to be replaced can be exchanged with a new cart. The contractor will not be able to complete the swapping process unless the old carts are at the road at the time the new cart is being delivered.
Effective immediately the Acadia Parish Police Jury will begin a new process for customers to report a missed pickup.
Missed pickups should be reported to the office of the Police Jury’s Solid Waste Supervisor at the Acadia Parish Sanitary Landfill. Customers are asked to call 337-783-4834 to file such complaints.
This phone number and the official parish logo will be displayed on each new cart as a reminder and for the convenience of all customers.
The new collection contract mandates that brand new garbage trucks will be required for the operation beginning March 1.
All new trucks will be equipped with surveillance cameras placed all around the vehicle. Each truck will also be furnished with a GPS transmitter.
Each new cart will be equipped with an RFID chip to allow the Solid Waste Supervisor and staff to confirm the exact time and location each cart is lifted by a truck operator. This technology will assist the Police Jury and the contractor in their efforts to minimize the occasions of missed pickups, react quickly to return to such locations and empty missed carts, and resolve any disputes arising therefrom.
The public is reminded that all customers are required to place their carts properly at the road before the contractor’s work day begins. Inside the corporate limits of the seven parish municipalities the contractor is allowed to begin collection at 5 a.m. each day; at 4 a.m. in rural areas outside such corporate limits.