Priority Waste Transition Update and Contact Information
Priority Waste Update August 15, 2024
Good morning residents,
We had a call from Priority Waste this morning saying they had a truck down yesterday and got a little behind on Wednesday's pick ups.
They said they were going to get the remainder of Wednesday's stops today prior to the regular Thursday schedule but that they should still be able to stay on track for the Thursday's pick ups.
Priority Waste Services Update August 13, 2024
The Supervisors office has been working with Priority Waste to speed up the implementation of the GPS cameras on the trucks servicing White Lake. Priority has long said the addition of the cameras would help them improve their services. Friday, we were finally able to get Priority to agree to pull the installation for White Lake ahead. As of this weekend, all trucks have been outfitted with the GPS cameras. Along with the installation of the cameras comes an LDC point of contact (logistics driver coordinator) who works specifically with White Lake on issues. They monitor tracks the trucks as the drive the Township picking up waste, please see the job description below. The White Lake LDC person started this Monday.
Role of the LDC:
- Coordination: Serve as a central point of contact, streamlining communication between our drivers, municipal teams, portal, and customers.
- Problem-Solving: By working closely with Lead drivers, the LDC will address any service-related issues promptly and efficiently.
- Service Optimization: Utilizing real-time data and advanced tools, the LDC will help optimize routes and improve overall service.
Additionally, Priority said that as of Monday, our full fleet of trucks are in service. All of this sounds good on paper but we still think there will be issues with pick ups for a while as Priority does not have all of their assets in service across all communities. We know they are pulling trucks at the end of the day to help service other local communities. However, we are hoping that these changes will improve things. Only time will tell.
Going forward the Township will continue to work with Priority on doing something about their customer service phone lines. Residents should not have to wait on hold for such extreme amounts of time. Until then, our staff will continue to take your calls to assist with reporting missed services. Please dial (248) 698-3300 and the prompt will ask you to press 1 to report missed services. Please leave your name, address, your regular garbage day, and what service(s) was missed.
In addition to the above, the Township is continuing to explore all options with their legal team to remedy this situation. Any further developments will be reported here and on our Facebook page @ WhiteLakeTwp.
FAQ's
1. Has my service date changed? No is has not changed. Please continue to leave your items at the curb on your regular trash day. If they are not picked up by the next morning, we have a message system set up where you can report what was missed. Dial the Township @ (248) 698-3300 and it will ask you to press 1 to leave a message regarding your missed service. Please leave your name, address, your regular garbage day, and what service(s) was missed. These items are entered into the Priority portal for the new LCD contact to distribute and follow up with to completion.
2. Why hasn't White Lake pulled their performance bond against Priority Waste like other communities have? There is confusion as to which company the other communities are pulling the performance bond against. If you read the articles, they are going after GFL to get reimbursement for their residents for poor services over the last month or two before the sale was final. White Lake did not have the issues some of the other communities had with GFL's performance so we are unable to do this at the moment. If there were to be other developments, we would let residents know.
3. How long will this continue? The Township cannot answer that question at the moment but we hope that with the changes above, and the continuing addition of more of their trucks/assets across all communities, residents will see more and more improvement.
As always, we are here to speak with residents who have further questions.
Priority Waste Services Update August 9, 2024
Priority is working to pick up the normal Friday schedule. Please do not call on the day of your scheduled service to tell us you are concerned they are not coming. This only adds confusion to the work they are trying to get caught up on. Please wait until the next day to report you service as missed. In many cases, they are working on it still and may just be delayed.
Regarding items that have been missed for a week or longer.
The Township continues to assist Priority with reporting missed items. If you have already reported a missed item to us and it still has not been picked up, please know that we have entered it into their portal for remediation. Priority is sending crews out this weekend to work on just the missed items in the portal. Therefore, please do not call us back at this time to tell us it is still there. Leave the items at the curb for the weekend crew.
If it has not been picked up over the weekend, please call us on Monday to let us know. At this time, we will place any missed items into an email to try and elevate the issue.
To report missed items, please dial the Township @ (248) 698-3300. The prompt will ask you to press 1 to leave a message. Please detail what was missed, your address and service day. You may also report if your entire street or neighborhood was missed.
Thank you and we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this situation.
Priority Waste Services Update August 7, 2024
Priority is continuing to have issues with the Township garbage services. We are assisting them with reporting missed items.
If your service was missed for longer than one day, please call the Township the morning after your service date to report what was missed, i.e. garbage, recycling, etc. If you call the same day, they may still be on their way and this only causes more confusion. .
The number to dial is (248) 698-3300, the prompt will ask you to press 1 to leave a message to report the missed service and your address. Please also include your day of service. You may also report if your entire street or neighborhood was missed. We will report this information to Priority via their portal. Please give them a day or two to resolve your issue as they are quite behind from last week still, which is putting them behind this week now.
We know this is a major inconvenience and we truly apologize. We are working hard to find a resolution to this situation.
Priority Waste Services Update July 19, 2024
Priority is continuing to pick up missed services.
If your service was missed, please know that Priority will continue to work on missed items today and Saturday.
Being totally transparent, we will continue to be behind on services for a while until they get more of their trucks back into service from being repaired. However, actual garbage (not recycling and yard waste) is the #1 priority at the moment. Those other items will be picked up as well but it may not be on your actual garbage day.
This weekend, Priority is working on implementing a new phone system to better handle customer calls. We will update you on this next week as we know more.
We understand the frustration residents are feeling as we are also customers of Priority at our homes. We continue to work and communicate with Priority. They have assured us that as more trucks return from being repaired and are put back into service on a weekly basis, things will improve.
You have probably seen the reports in the news as to the many communities this transition to Priority has affected. There is not a simple solution at the moment but we continue to monitor the situation closely.
We thank you for your patience and understanding.
White Lake Township
Garbage Update for Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Dear Resident's,
Priority Waste has communicated that they are behind today and likely will be the rest of this week. They will be working Saturday to get caught up.
If your service was missed, please leave it out for Priority to pick up the following day(s).
If your service has been missed for multiple days, the best way to report the missed service is to visit Prioritywaste.com and go to the top right side of the page where it says Contact Us - click and select Message Us to fill out the form and state your address and what service was missed.
If you do not have computer capabilities to report on-line, please contact us @ (248) 698-3300 and follow the garbage message prompt. Please leave a message with your address and what service was missed and we will send this information to Priority.
Thank you for your continued patience during this transition. We are working with Priority daily and will communicated information regarding your services ASAP.
Our goal is for this transition to succeed, and we are continuing to work toward this goal with Priority on a daily basis.
Supervisor Kowall
Garbage Update June 26, 2024
Dear Resident's,
The transition to Priority Waste is effective July 1, 2024. We ask that you continue to put your trash, recycling, yard waste, and bulk items out on your regularly scheduled pick-up day by 7:00 am. It is possible that some residents may experience some delays while Priority Waste learns our community.
Please contact Priority Waste @ (586) 228-1200 or live chat on their website @ Prioritywaste.com in the event you need to report missed pick-ups. You may also click on the FAQ sheet below for more information on Priority Waste.
We have more information regarding garbage and recycling on our Assessing Department page where you can find information regarding acceptable recycling and yard waste practices and information on bulk items. If viewing on your laptop from this page, see the blue garbage and recycling tab to the left. If viewing on your cell phone, click on the three horizontal bars above and to the left of the Assessing header to view the Assessing page.
Thank you for your continued support and patience during the transition to Priority Waste.
Sincerely,
Supervisor Kowall
