MOORESVILLE, Ind. — Hoosiers in Hendricks and Morgan counties say their uncollected trash has been piling up in front of their homes for weeks.
"We can't get a hold of anybody. Nobody knows what to do," said Raymond Byrne of Mooresville.
Byrne said it's been about three weeks since he last saw a trash truck.
"Most everybody pays a year in advance like I do, so we're expecting some service," said Byrne.
Lisa Pherson in Avon expressed the same sentiment as neighbors had piles of garbage at their curb.
"It looked like everybody did spring cleaning in one week," said Pherson. "It was almost like they'd been hoarding trash. That's what it looked like."
Pherson's trash sat for 16 days before Ray's Trash Service picked it up Monday. But it turns out, Rays was actually bought out by Waste Management in September. Neighbors from Avon to Moorseville say there were no emails, no phone calls and no communication.
"Everyone is getting kind of unnerved about it here," said Byrne.
A Waste Management spokesperson told 13News the transition would take time, as many of the acquired trucks were deemed unsafe.
"WM was aware that the fleet would need to be addressed. A significant investment to support fleet improvements has been allocated and immediately implemented, including the deployment of 75 assets that have either been received or are in transit to support the Indianapolis area," said Mia Jankowiak, communications manager with WM.
WM says by early February, the company should be fully operational.
"We can't wait until February for somebody to give us notice on what's going to happen with our trash. We need to know now," said Pherson.
Hoosiers who live in the Green Street Village neighborhood in Brownsburg tell 13News their trash hasn't been picked up since Dec. 16.
According to the WM website, they have experience to "quickly integrate the acquired business into WM."
That's not according to its new customers.
"If they're claiming some of the trucks weren't up to code and it was a safety issue, well then you should have addressed that prior to purchasing the company and you should have been well to go with vehicles that are up to code," said Pherson.
For 89-year-old Raymond Byrne, timing is everything.
"I really don't know what to do. I might have to call somebody who picks up trash and takes it away," said Byrne.
Full statements from the Hendricks County Health Department and Waste Management can be read below.
Hendricks County Health Department:
We are aware of the ongoing issue with delayed trash pick-up.
While our office permits and regulates solid waste processing and disposal facilities, our office does not regulate residential trash service.
In addition, if there was an accumulation of trash at a residence or business, we may pursue investigation and enforcement under another ordinance. Examples would be trash accumulated at a food establishment or illegal dumping on a property. That is not the issue we are seeing.
Since trash disposal can lead to public health concerns, we are doing what we can to communicate with Waste Management and those who have called our office regarding the lack of timely service. We are sharing contact information for the company (as follows) and forwarding addresses received by our office that are lacking service.
Rays Clayton Dispatch Number, 317-539-9862 – This is the correct phone number for the next few weeks as the companies transition.
You may also contact Waste Management with your address and pertinent information about service that was missed by:
- Email the Customer Service Team at CustomerServiceCM_GLA@wm.com
- Live chat with them through wm.com
- Contact them at 866.797.9018.
We ask residents and businesses to place trash in containers as much as possible to reduce the effects of blowing trash and animal attraction as the company works through the transition. If Hendricks County residents or businesses have attempted to make contact but are still waiting for service after two weeks, they may contact our Health Department Administrator, Krista Click, at kclick@co.hendricks.in.us, or 317-718-6008 with their address and last service date so that it may be shared with trash service management.
Waste Management statement:
In September, WM purchased key assets of Ray’s Trash Service, the largest independent recycling and waste disposal operation in the Indianapolis area.
As part of this transition, WM has made it a priority to focus on streamlining operations, equipment, technology, and service - to keep safety at the forefront of all that we do, in addition to cultivating a people-first culture.
Safety:
WM has zero tolerance for unsafe actions/conditions - and makes safety a core value without compromise.
A key-area of focus as part of this transition is replacing the existing Ray’s fleet with new, WM assets. Nearly 30% of the fleet was not safe to operate as part of WM’s strict safety standards to ensure employee and community safety. The local team has been working diligently to replace assets, and currently has several rental trucks on the road to help keep service as timely as possible. Currently, 75 trucks are either received or in transit to support the Indianapolis area.
Every WM employee undergoes extensive safety training as part of the onboarding process. This includes traveling to a WM training facility for safety training, and upon return, being placed with a site-designated safety trainer to learn and engage best practices for an additional 4-6 weeks. Following that process, every driver is assigned to a mentor as they continue to learn the WM protocol of safety and service excellence. As part of the acquisition, all former Ray’s Trash Service drivers participated in a mandatory WM onboarding safety training program that included several weeks of training to learn WM safety procedures and processes.
Technology:
In early February of 2023, Ray’s Trash Customers can expect full integration into the WM suite of customer communications. Customers will have access to a variety of customer tools such as viewing pickup and holiday schedules, requesting service, and enrolling in AutoPay and Paperless Billing. They may also be able to set communication preferences to receive notifications and service alerts via email, text, or phone.
From an operations perspective, all Ray’s/WM trucks will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology that provides GPS tracking and instant routing notifications to ensure safe and timely service. WM encourages all former Ray’s Trash Service customers to visit https://www.wm.com/us/en/rays-trash to learn more about WM and what they can expect in the coming months.
A People-First Focus:
The WM team has made it a priority to refresh Ray’s Trash Service facilities and provide essential/critical safety equipment and WM gear to Ray’s Trash Service employees that have joined the WM community.
As part of this transition, newly welcomed Ray’s Trash Service employees (now WM team members) now have access to WM’s Your Tomorrow benefit. Your Tomorrow is offered in collaboration with Guild Education, a first-of-its-kind program that provides WM employees, as well as their eligible dependents, the opportunity to choose from a full range of education options, including earning a college degree, at no cost to the employee.
Customers may contact Ray’s Trash Service directly at 317-539-2024 or 800-531-6752, or by emailing residential@raystrash.com. During this transition period, the WM team commits to working alongside customers to get their accounts serviced both safely and efficiently. Additional, trained, WM staff will be allocated to support call volume immediately, and 22+ drivers have been deployed to help recover service as quickly as possible. WM sincerely apologizes for the delay in service related to the Ray’s Trash Service transition and expects significant improvement in the coming weeks, including an increase in customer communications.
Please visit and monitor https://www.wm.com/us/en/rays-trash for continued updates.