R & R Sanitation to serve Kent

Trash will no longer be a permanent decoration on streets in the City of Kent.

Starting March 1, a single hauler will provide the trash collection system of the city following a four-day schedule. ??

“It used to be that each house would have trash out on a different date and recycling on another date,” said Eugene Roberts, public service director of the City of Kent. “Now, the neighborhood will look cleaner.”??

Mogadore-based R & R Sanitation Inc. will collect Kent’s trash.

The city has been divided into four quadrants that will have a different collection day. Trash will be picked up Monday through Thursday; Friday will be used as make-up day during holidays or if there is inclement weather that prevents trash pick up.

The Portage County Solid Waste Management District will also follow this schedule for its curbside recycling collection.

Roberts said the citywide mandate will benefit the quality of the neighborhood by preventing road deterioration. He explained the damage caused to the pavement by one collection truck is equivalent to being used by 1,000 cars. ??

On a given day, up to eight different residential pick up services drove around the city before the ordinance was approved.

Residents must contact the company to sign up and select one of the five levels of service available: 30, 60, 90-gallon, per bag or unlimited. Those who fail to sign up will automatically be billed for the 60-gallon service. ??

Roberts emphasized that property owners are responsible for signing up the contract with the hauler, as opposed to tenants. Roberts said as of December, 85 percent of houses are complying with the ordinance. ??

City Council members selected R & R Sanitation Inc. from a pool of three bidders on May 2009 because the company offered the lowest bid.

“Most people didn’t know they were paying for unlimited service to their hauler, and now they can pay by scale,” Roberts said.

The company also provides bulk item collection for extra cost depending on the item. ??

The ordinance allows the hauler to adjust the level of service of a house if residents dispose of more trash than what they have signed up for, Roberts said. ?

Owners will be billed quarterly. Failure to comply with the ordinance will be considered an unclassified misdemeanor, Roberts said. There is no opt-out option. However, the measure does not apply to large apartment complexes or units using a dumpster.

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Amy Bryant, regional manager of Eagle’s Landing Apartments, said the complex still uses Waste Management Co., formerly Farris Disposal Inc.

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In 2007, the City of Kent filed a civil lawsuit against Farris Disposal Inc. and a few of its clients, including Holly Park Apartments, Jordan Court Apartments and Oak Haven Condominiums, when the company refused to give up its waste and recycling removal contracts, according to the Portage County Clerk of Courts. ??

Joseph Oliver, attorney for Farris Disposal Inc., said because the company’s contracts with the apartment complexes predated the city’s ordinance, Farris Disposal Inc. was allowed to continue its business in Kent. The suit was settled out of court in November 2008.?

Landlords like John Gargan have also been able to keep their previous service providers. Gargan owns several rental properties, two of which are located on College Avenue and Willow Street, that share a dumpster. ??

“We have a commercial contract through a public lease that involves a dumpster, so we were sort of exempt from that [mandatory change]” said Gargan.??

Roberts said another exception applies to those residential owners who also have a business in the city and use one dumpster for both properties.?

While 15 percent of property owners have not yet signed a contract with the new hauler, some residents of College Avenue said their street has become noticeably cleaner, and that the beer cans that used to line the street all week have now been reduced to Saturdays and Sundays. ??

“Having less time to clean up after parties makes our house look cleaner and more attractive to potentials,” said Brad Winfield, senior advertising major and member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity located on East College Avenue. ??

Contact public affairs reporters Regina Garcia Cano at

[email protected] and

Sam Laros at [email protected].

For a list of the trash routes, click here.