By Brian Trompeter
Citing “persistent staffing shortages and equipment challenges,” the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) is proposing to eliminate collection of containerized (i.e., dumpster) trash and recycling pickups at county agencies effective Oct. 1 – and perhaps stop vacuum leaf-collection services in nine residential areas as well.
In a July 3 memo to agencies, DPWES Director Christopher Herrington said moving to private trash collection would “improve efficiency and reduce the number of collection vehicles operating in your area.” The switch would support the community’s environmental goal of reducing greenhouse gases and the more-efficient private sector routes would reduce costs, he wrote.
“In contrast, the current DPWES model sends collection vehicles on long trips throughout all of Fairfax County” to service spread-out facilities, leading to higher costs, increased vehicle emissions and reduced efficiency, Herrington wrote.
The final decision about the county’s trash service has not been made yet. DPWES is mulling changes to some solid-waste services to ensure core residential services can continue, Herrington said.
“Staff will continue to evaluate public feedback and the fiscal impact of alternative options and inform the Board of Supervisor’s prior to implementing any changes,” he told the GazetteLeader.
DPWES “is not immune to the staffing challenges faced by similar organizations, both public and private sector,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D). “This means the county has to make difficult decisions in order to deliver core services to residents effectively and efficiently, which is our top priority. Staff from Public Works and [the] Department of Purchasing and Materials Management are working with county agencies to explore private trash-service options for those agencies impacted.”
McLean Citizens Association (MCA) board member Barbara Ryan said the main issue is the county’s reliance on private contractors to perform a vital function.
“Unfortunately, the reliability of private contractors for waste removal has been awful, and it got much worse with COVID and labor shortages,” Ryan said. Supervisors “tried to address this last year, but missed pickups are still common in my neighborhood. What leverage does the county have to ensure trash gets picked up in a timely manner?”
MCA’s Budget & Taxation Committee several years ago evaluated the county’s residential trash-collection program and discovered the county was “grossly” under-allocating its costs and heavily subsidizing households that used the program, said MCA board member Louise Epstein.
“In addition, the county had a detailed set of rules that made it very difficult for new neighborhoods to obtain this heavily subsidized garbage-collection service,” she said. “Basically, the old grandfathered neighborhoods benefited from the subsidy, while 90 percent of the households in the county used one of the county-approved private garbage collectors.”
DPWES also is seeking to discontinue permanently vacuum leaf collection after this winter season. The decision would affect about 25,000 customers in nine areas of the county. Eight of those are clustered on the county’s eastern edge, especially in Mason District; the only outlier is a small patch in Dranesville District near Sterling.
According to county staff, the DPWES leaf-collection program during the 2022-2023 season suffered collection delays, staffing shortages, inclement weather and an unusually large volume of leaves.
The county finances its leaf-collection efforts with a property tax of 1.2 cents per $100 assessed valuation, which is paid by customers receiving the service. That tax would end along with the leaf collection. The county in January billed residents for the 2023-24 leaf-collection season, so DPWES will provide it as scheduled.
County officials said customers had expressed safety concerns about leaves placed along the street to be collected. Residents reportedly told the county the leaves sometimes posed flood hazards by blocking storm drains or forced pedestrians to walk into the street, thus running the risk of being struck by vehicles. Residents also were concerned about slipping and falling on the leaves and said leaf piles reduced the amount of on-street parking.
DPWES expects to incur about a $900,000 deficit for the 2023 leaf-collection season, plus another $400,000 at the end of fiscal 2024. Officials attributed the costs to hiring an additional contractor and paying overtime for county employees and temporary contractors’ support workers.
Supervisors will have the final say, but the county is seeking the public’s input through Aug. 18 via an online survey at https://engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/leaf-collection. Residents also may leave comments via voicemail at (703) 890-5898, using Project Code 2159, or by texting “leaf collection” to (703) 890-5898.
McKay said it was too early to state definitively what will happen with the leaf-collection program, but reiterated that those who receive the service pay for it.
“The county prides itself on providing outstanding services and this program, for a variety of reasons, has come up short on that goal the past few years,” McKay said. “It is important to be transparent and to work with the community on what makes the most sense for them and the county moving forward. I look forward to that conversation.”
The leaf-collection program is a “great service, when done right,” said Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville). “I would like to see it continued if staff presents a plan for addressing the recent performance problems that have caused significant inconvenience in communities that depend on and pay for the service.”
If the county government cannot return to the quality of service it used to provide, the affected communities might be better off contracting with another service provider, he said.
Providence District Council president Jeremy Hancock said DPWES should shelve the entire proposal until the department thoroughly analyzes its failures and evaluates possible solutions.
“Many of the issues could be addressed through better management of contractors, a thoughtful analysis of communication options and realistic budgeting,” Hancock said. “County staff appear to be running the program into the ground and leaving the Board of Supervisors with limited options. Staff should focus on solving problems rather than shifting those problems to residents.”
