Vicksburg introduces new solid waste ordinance amendments

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[Edit: This story has been updated to clarify the resident garbage collection fee will be $16.50 for twice weekly garbage collection]

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen has endorsed amendments to the city’s solid waste policies, which include new guidelines for trash collection and waste handling. A key change is the introduction of specific color-coding for city-issued garbage bins.

For residents:

A monthly charge of $16.50 will be applied for twice weekly garbage collection.

Households can obtain an additional garbage can at a monthly cost of $25.50. The primary bin will be green, carrying the city emblem, while the optional bin will be brown.

For commercial entities:

Small businesses outside downtown will use the standard green bins. They can avail up to three extra brown bins, each priced at $25.50 monthly.
Downtown commercial businesses will be charged $40.15 monthly for four-times-a-week collection, with the option to have up to four bins at the same monthly rate per bin.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. emphasized that the city will actively communicate these changes to residents through various platforms, from social media to newspapers.

The backdrop to these changes is the board’s June approval of a new contract with Waste Management, which came with steeper fees, especially for non-standard waste collections. Specifically, costs rose from June’s $149,508.49 to $209,355.90 in July, highlighting an increase of $59,847.41 due to the new contract.

Mayor Flaggs also mentioned the possibility of revising the $16.50 fee based on the accurate count of city garbage containers, addressing discrepancies in billing and actual collections.

Newly introduced policies now permit residents to use two city-branded cans: one green and one brown. These specific cans will be the only ones Waste Management collects trash from, ensuring uniformity and ease of waste management. The tracking of these containers is crucial, and they will be registered at Water and Gas, managed by Vicksburg Community Service. The city will distribute new cans to residents and collect the older ones once available.