It’s Day 1 of the new garbage, trash and recycling service for most residents of Biloxi, and the Harrison County Utility Authority said those who saw pickups Thursday, primarily in areas north of Interstate 10, had few issues.
“We actually began picking up some northern areas of Biloxi on Thursday, several thousand pickups in fact, and things went very well,” said Alan Lane, a utility authority staffer who oversees residential pickups.”
Under the new contract, which began Oct. 1, Team Waste picks up garbage and recycling, and Pelican Waste is dedicated to picking up trash, such a yard trimming, limbs and other non-hazardous materials. Service is one-day a week, with both companies working in northern areas of the city on Thursday and the Biloxi peninsula and some areas north of the Bay on Friday.
The coordination of multiple services all offered on the same day – garbage, recycling and trash trucks all working in neighborhoods – has worked well, Lane said. “It’s been well coordinated, and, with Cruisin’ the Coast in town, we’ve been careful to hit the event areas early, to avoid congestion.”
The utility authority has set up a help line – (228) 701-9086 – to connect callers directly to Team Waste or Pelican Waste. The number is also displayed on the sides of carts.
A few key things to remember as the new contract moves forward:
Garbage and recycling carts and any trash needs to be at the curb no later than 6 a.m. on pickup day.
Make sure containers are spaced three to five feet apart and three to five feet away from any obstructions, such as fire hydrants, utility poles, guy wires, and mailboxes.
“We had a couple of mailboxes hit earlier in the week,” Lane said. “But they have already all been repaired. One was even a brick mailbox that was knocked over and even it’s already repaired.
“People can understand when things happen, whether it’s a missed pickup or a driver learning a new route, but I have full confidence in these vendors and this first week has shown that when there’s an issue they address it right away.”
