Having trash pickup issues in the Centre Region? Here’s what you should do
For nearly a month, Kirk French and about 10 of his neighbors in Ferguson Township didn’t have their trash picked up by Waste Management.
They called the company repeatedly. Most calls followed the same routine: An out-of-town operator would apologize profusely, tell them they were sending a truck back for pickup — but then, French said, no one would return to Pine Grove Mills.
The issue was fixed only last week, after French and another township resident — from outside French’s neighborhood — brought the issue before the board of supervisors.
“It’s more than just Pine Grove, at least out in the rural sections of the township,” added the other township resident, Bill Keough, a member of Ferguson’s planning commission. “And it is very difficult for us to deal with somebody who we can’t just change vendors (from) because of poor performance.”
On social media, residents on at least four different streets voiced similar complaints. But the county was largely unaware of the issues. According to the Centre Region Council of Governments, the relevant department received only four Ferguson Township complaints during the four-week period starting Dec. 7. And Waste Management, which provides a monthly report to the region, said it had just 37 missed December pickups — throughout Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton Townships — out of about 16,000 customers.
What can you do about pickup problems?
Although the issue does not appear to be widespread, it led to a Ferguson Township supervisor soliciting feedback about Waste Management from constituents. Some other neighbors — not French and his neighbors — who took to social media to complain about missed pickups might also have been mistaken.
Due to inclement weather, at least two pickup times were moved up a few hours earlier in December so trash could be hauled away before the snow hit. One of those earlier pickup dates, Dec. 22, eventually turned into a “no-service day” after already having stopped at a number of homes, meaning Waste Management wasn’t required to haul away other households’ garbage due to safety concerns with the worsening weather.
CRCOG’s Refuse and Recycling Program tries to let residents know about those changes via two Facebook pages (CentreRegionCOG and CentreRegionalPlanning), text/email alerts (if signed up) and radio — in addition to Waste Management alerting its customers — but the program administrator acknowledged a lot of residents don’t check those outlets, or simply don’t know to check them.
“People don’t necessarily follow social media or sign up for the alerts, which we encourage,” said the administrator, Shelly Mato.
To report issues, you can still reach out directly to Houston-based Waste Management at 866-909-4458, email them at wmcares@wm.com or start an online chat. Or you can speak directly to Mato in Happy Valley by calling her office at 814-234-7198 or emailing her at recycler@crcog.net. She said she welcomed the messages.
What you can’t do: Hire another company to pick up your trash. The Centre Region Council of Governments hired Advance Disposal Service as the region’s lone contracted hauler from Jan. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025. And Waste Management bought out Advance, meaning it now has the contract.
The contract does not apply to Halfmoon Township or State College Borough but does apply to households in Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton Townships.
Other options to trash pickup?
If you’re part of the average household — not a business, farm or apartment building — then, unfortunately, you really don’t have another option.
The contract was made, in part, to increase services and help residents save money as Mato said monthly rates here are among the lowest in the commonwealth. (Granted, monthly rates have increased in 2023 to $23.38 for regular use but, in 1991, before the singular-awarded contracts, haulers routinely charged $20.50 monthly.) Still, municipal and regional officials will decide whether to renew Waste Management’s contract by next year.
Because the next contract will have to go into effect by April 1, 2025, Mato said the CRCOG is aiming to award the bid by April 2024. It’s only starting now to work on the Request for Bid.
The CRCOG is currently asking residents to fill out a survey, which can be done online or printed/requested online, to help gauge satisfaction with Waste Management and to guide officials on what’s important in the next contract.
