About 15 people attended a town hall meeting to air the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission’s plan to reduce residential trash collection from twice to once-a-week.
Richard LeBouef, executive director of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Commission, explained the change at the Tuesday session in the Council Chambers at the Eunice Municipal Complex.
Residents in unincorporated areas of the parish have been served with weekly garbage collection since the parishwide system started more than 30 years ago.
Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said the decision on implementing the change will come from the parish Solid Waste Commission.
And, LeBouef said a commission decision may come as early as December.
Additional grappler truck service to pickup bulky items is planned as the trash pickup schedule is changed, he said.
The proposal is for residential trash pickup be operated weekly in Eunice.
Additional litter abatement crews would be added and rear-loading trash would be placed in operation for smaller streets.
There was little opposition stated to the proposal.
Alderman Ernest Blanchard said, “We are going to have trash all over the place” with the change.
And a point about having people bag garbage was met by Fred Charlie that the buying the bags would be hardship on people with fixed incomes.
Alderwoman Germaine Simpson said when Waste Connections began using an automated system for picking up cans the city faced a litter problem and when the City Barn was closed from taking bulky items illegal dumping started.
Noting that the grappler truck would come on a schedule, Simpson said when people find items dumped in front of their house they want it removed that day.
The mayor and Paul Carrier, city street commissioner, said they expected the plan to free up five or six city workers for jobs other than trash pickup.
Margaret Frey urged educating children about the value of recycling. Frey said about 75% of solid waste is recyclable.
