PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The campaign has begun for the trash election in Portage, which is still over three months away in May.
The debate has been going on for years over the regulation of trash haulers in the community south of Kalamazoo. City officials charged that the haulers were overcharging some customers, and at first regulated and then decided to end the confusion by limiting the franchise to one hauler last year.
Waste Management won the bidding, sparking a voter referendum, and the vote over the issue in May.
Opponents of the city’s imposition of a single hauler say it’s all about freedom of choice.
Resident Mark Anthony Martin made that point at this week’s meeting, saying “I cannot wait until May when you see what a beehive you would stirred by taking away our right to choose.”
Resident Doug Vohden disagrees and says it’s all about getting a fair price.
“It’s not about choice,” said Vohden. “It’s about the council and mayor allowing us to get a good price by leveraging the buying power of the whole community’s waste disposal business.”
Council member Vic Ledbetter says Best Way, who lost the bid, has been spreading misinformation.
“For them to say that we’re taking choice away I find it very hypocritical, seeing that they have at least 12 other communities where they are the single provider,” said Ledbetter.
The new single hauler system begins in just a few weeks in March. Residents will have the choice to sign up or figure out some other way to get rid of their trash on their own.
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