ANNA MARIA – As part of Waste Management’s ongoing efforts to obtain city commission approval to switch Anna Maria’s trash and recycling collection days from Mondays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Fridays, the company is proposing making side-door service mandatory for all residential properties.
Addressing concerns expressed by the mayor and city commissioners about Waste Management’s current performance level on side-door collection service, Waste Management Government Affairs Manager Brenna Haggar made the proposal to the mayor and commissioners on July 24, and commissioners were receptive to the idea.
City code currently requires side-door trash and recycling service for all non-homesteaded residential properties, including short-term vacation rentals and secondary vacation homes. Side-door service is not mandatory for primary residences that qualify for the county property tax homestead exemption. According to Waste Management, approximately 80% of Anna Maria’s residential properties already have side-door service, including many that are not required to have it.
During past discussions, the mayor and commissioners frequently expressed concerns about emptied trash and recycling receptacles being left by the street and not being returned to the side of the property as required by city code. Haggar said mandatory side-door service for all residential properties would eliminate the confusion experienced by Waste Management personnel as to which properties require their trash and recycling receptacles to be retrieved from the side of the property, emptied and returned to the side of the property, currently at an additional cost to the property owner.
Haggar said homesteaded property owners would not initially be charged the additional side-door service fee during the pilot program that would continue until June, when Waste Management’s current contract with the city expires. Haggar said the rates for homesteaded property owners would then be recalculated if Waste Management continues to serve as the city’s exclusively-contracted solid waste service after the contract expires. Before then, the city will also solicit bids from other solid waste service providers.
If the proposed changes are approved by the city commission, which will require an amendment to the current contract, the collection day schedule change and the mandatory side-door service for all residential properties would take effect Oct. 1.
Related coverage:
Commission considering changes to trash collection schedule
Concerns raised about Waste Management’s performance
