Contracting Private Garbage Removal for Public Services - Coursework Example

Contracting Private Garbage Removal for Public Services The rising pressure in terms of saving cost and lack of efficiency of public services pushes the government and county councils to transfer some of the services to the private sector. There has been a rising trend in the privatization of handling domestic waste. There have been studies that give an indication of the cost of private service being lower as compared to the public service in the collection of household garbage and waste. Despite the cost difference, it remains the responsibility of the municipalities on the kind of service they are willing to offer to their citizens, regardless of the cost efficiency: public or private. Key Words Efficiency Solid Waste Management Recycling Environment Introduction The urban population has experienced a dramatic rise in recent years. In 2008, there was a study by the United Nations. It suggests that for the first time in the world, there are more people living in urban areas than the people living in rural areas (United Nations Environmental Program, 2013). Urbanization has been the source of many opportunities and technological advancement; however, it has also been associated with deteriorating living conditions and poverty. Those in this world that call the slums their home number millions (LeRoux, 2007). The United Nations have had many meetings to discuss the fate of the people living in slums and improving their environment. There are many issues that need an address by the government to accomplish their goal. Involving the community to help the government maintain a clean environment is a good idea. Public waste management by a private company is one of the ways the community gets involved in the maintenance of their environment. CURRENT STATUS OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Solid waste management and garbage collection is a fundamental requirement for ensuring a sustainable environment. The rapid city urbanization, population growth, industrialization. Also, increased waste generation has led to solid waste being an important public health and environmental concern in different cities in America (Savas, 2005). Solid waste management is very expensive and tough, especially for the urban poor who cannot afford the garbage services. Poorer communities are left to fend for themselves and the disposal of their waste. The government institutions that have a mandate for solid waste management are unable to deliver quality garbage services to all the residents. That is the reason the government decided to contact private services for the purpose of offering the services to the residents. The advantage of the activity being done by a private firm is that they ensure quality deliverance and efficiency when carrying out the garbage services. Sources, Composition and Generation of Solid Waste The composition of waste in any region has its determination by various factors including population, the level of sources of income, social behavior, industrial production, the market for waste materials and climate. The current municipal solid waste generated in Maywood, California on a daily basis is about 3,000 tons, according to statistics. The composition of solid waste the people in the township produce has been evolving over the years (LeRoux, 2007). The town reaches its waste limit before the end of the day. It is, therefore, important that the private firms contracted to deposit the waste do a fast and efficient job that would ensure the township maintains its environment Collection of Solid Wastes The municipal council only collects about 40% of the total solid wastes in most cities and towns. It is thus important to contract a private company that would increase the collection rate to over 90% of the waste. There should be reuse and recycling of the garbage produced per day. The organization responsible for the garbage collection should thus have three separate bins, one for organic matter, non-organic matter and recyclable plastics (Savas, 2005). There normally is an assumption that collection of reusable garbage occurs before the final collection of the waste. It leads to decrease in number in the collection of wastes in Maywood. The waste that does not get the collection, mainly in informal settlements gets disposed of in the wrong way thus causing harm to the environment. It is important for a public officer to be present when the contracting company carries out the activity of cleaning the environment daily. There are different strategies through which privately contracted companies can approach the issues of garbage removal and collection in homes, businesses, and public places. One of the strategies is that the contracted private company should take the responsibility of garbage collection fully, thus also taking the responsibility for the health and safety of the city’s population. Taking this approach means the community they are serving should not have a restriction on certain types or different quantities of garbage (LeRoux, 2007). The company responsible should be in charge of collecting the garbage as often as possible without fail. The costs of the trash collection services must be to the domestic, commercial and industrial users and waste producers. The recycling of the materials should be number one option for the company. There is another approach to ensuring the business provides the best results in its activities. The alternative model has its basis on environmental precaution, and it includes the separation of organic waste. The garbage is treated as the responsibility of the waste producer because the company can be selective in what it collects, and the materials get recycled. The strategies get implemented to reduce waste generation, and different technologies applied to treating waste. The company should involve the community as there are several benefits to the involvement of the citizens. The first benefit is that there is the development of a sense of citizenship and ownership. Citizens become managers of the waste disposal project and also a part of the solution to proper waste disposal (Savas, 2005). It generates internal management mechanisms as well as addresses the needs of the whole community. There is also the development of local knowledge on the topic, thus empowering the community involved and enhances the social capital of the township. There are also disadvantages to this setup, and they should be in consideration before starting. The overall cost that involves garbage collection may rise if one transfers the responsibility to the community. The increase in price includes administrative and labor cost. Another possibility in this kind of set up is a decentralization of the collection process. Several different organizations might participate in the garbage collection process and dilute the responsibility to optimal service. Challenges Each and every local government in America handles the collection of their garbage. Contracting a private company to carry out the works is the best option for ensuring a safe and clean environment. There is a garbage disposal fee every resident is to pay for the collection of their waste. Different avenues are used such as paying the collection fee through the electricity bill, house rent or individually. The residents who pay the garbage disposal fee do not pay up on time and others do not pay the taxes entirely. There is another challenge that further affects the subscriptions to garbage removal i.e. the lack of an enforcement mechanism (LeRoux, 2007). The consequences involved with not paying your garbage collection fee are very few thus many residents result in not paying the price. The government does not take any responsibility if an individual decides not to pay their garbage collection fee. The contracted company should, therefore, look for their ways to deal with stubborn residents. Waste collection is already a public health concern. Thus, the local government cannot halt the collection of garbage in any neighborhood just because some users have refused to pay the collection fees. There is another challenge the company gets while carrying out their services. The company does not receive enough money from garbage collection to make the necessary investments. Thus, their workers often go on strike. The consequences of workers going on strike have its feel on citizens. At the entrance of different neighborhoods during the strike, there are often overfilled garbage containers. Each trash container has a capacity of 5,000 kilograms. The overflow of garbage is made worse by people that open the trash bags in search for food and recyclable bottles thus spreading the waste. The spilling of the waste causes foul odors, unsanitary conditions and sometimes the stoppage of traffic on the narrow roads of the city. In theory, the garbage collection company collects garbage from smaller containers every morning. People, however, do not bring their garbage down in time every morning. By the time its midday, the container where the waste becomes full again. There are tanks that lack the proper disposal infrastructure leading to residents piling up their waste in the wrong containers. The colossal disposal containers require a special truck with a crane to remove the waste (Savas, 2005). The truck, however, can only handle one roll-on container at a time. The truck must, therefore, drop off an empty container before taking the full one. However, the reality is that a truck can only pick up a few number of containers on its route in a single day, which results in the accumulation of waste materials for days. The design of these containers, however, is such that, it is not convenient for the people. Domestic servants and female residents should learn to dispose of the waste properly. Improper disposal of waste is one of the primary reasons for garbage and waste being thrown all around. The evolving trend of Maywood’s solid waste composition shows that there is a decrease in organic waste and increase in plastic paper contents over the years. The varying changes in the type of garbage can have attribution to the changing lifestyle of the Maywood residents and goods in packages. Other waste content to be found includes wood, textile, and ash. They seem to be on the increase over the years due to the rise in population and the growth in the rate of urbanization (LeRoux, 2007). Organic matter is on the decrease while the inorganic matter is on the rise. There are several operational dumpsites in Maywood, but only a few are operational. The dumpsites are open dumpsite where the waste is separated according to their type. There is a lot of waste burning that is not appropriate for the environment and the citizens of the town. The dumpsite is nearly full to its capacity due to the rapid population growth rate and urbanization among other factors. There are however over 50 illegal dumpsites throughout the city where people dump their garbage. Contracting the responsibility to private firms will ensure the illegal dumpsites are done away with and the creation of a new dump site. The current dumpsites do not have a right management system, and it is a challenge. Advantages and Disadvantages of Contracting Private Garbage Removal for Public Services The main reason for any government to outsource its services to the private sector is so that to have the work done in a quick and efficient way. The private sector can accomplish tasks in a faster way than the workers of the government. The firm allocated the task of trash removal from residential and industrial areas has the authority to choose the number of days they would offer the services. The firm is also able to choose the best way to carry out its services. The setup ensures maximum efficiency from the firm. The main disadvantage of contracting private companies for garbage removal is the amount of money that the local government will have to part with to fulfill the issue. There is an inverse relationship between the contract price and the level of contracting-out of different companies. For a county council to contract the services of many businesses, the contract sum has to reduce. Private companies must be contracted to ensure adequated delivery of services (LeRoux, 2007). It is because the number of people working in the environment department at the county council is way below the required number to carry out the activities. Existing Legal Frameworks There are very few legal frameworks that concern solid waste at the city council level, and there are few numbers of the Acts of the county council. There is little categorization in the legislations that was enacted to cover public waste only. The legislation is also not efficient in the ways it sets and defines its standards and conditions. The rules and conditions include some aspects of Solid Waste Management, particularly concerning the operational aspects (Savas, 2005). An example includes there being no central government regulation or bylaw that defines standards for the collection, treatment and transportation of Solid Waste or proper management of sanitary landfills. There is also no legislation by the city council on waste reduction or recycling. There are however international laws that provide a necessary legal framework for the coordinated management of the environment. The International Act deals with waste and garbage management, including disposal site licensing, standard setting and control of hazardous hospital waste. Under these Act, responsibility for the waste, including storing, treating and collection of industrial, dangerous and hospital wastes will be the generator. The final disposal of all the wastes will remain the responsibility of local governments and councils. These responsibilities proved to be too much for the local governments to carry out, hence their contract private companies to perform the activities. However, there is no systematic approach to disposal and management of these wastes. Hazardous, industrial and hospital waste end up mixing with the public sector’s waste in the collection bins. The bins have their location on the roadsides and the company responsible for garbage dispose of all the wastes similarly. There should be proper measure in dumping of the wastes. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the international laws on solid waste management to legislate (LeRoux, 2007). The laws should have legislation that include activities concerned with the waste management. The laws should also have sanctions enforcement to the law breakers concerning solid waste management. At the local government level, the ministry concerned with the environment has the primary responsibility of Solid Waste Management. Maywood County Government has total control over all the operations and activities of garbage collection within the city and its environs. The Council resulted in contracting waste collection companies to manage the waste in different residential areas. Subcontracting various entities is a brilliant idea from the local government that ensures the companies give maximum concentration on the various sites allocated (Savas, 2005). The National Environment Maintenance has different policies that ensure the works the private companies carry out is up to par to ensure residents of Maywood are living in environment-friendly conditions. However, NEM has no specific rules or legislation on the management of garbage from delicate areas like a hospital. The legislation only happens when these hospitals and clinics are being set up. Conclusion Solid Waste Management is still a major concern in different parts of the country. The continuing increase in technology and urbanization increases the number of people moving to major towns and cities. The rise in the number of people leads to the rise in the population, thus a difficult task in managing their waste. Contracting the work however to a private firm is the best way local government can ensure the trash gets handled in the best way possible. References LeRoux, K. (2007). Service Contracting, A Local Government Guide. Washington, D.C.: ICMA Press. Savas, E.S. (2005). Privatization in the City. Washington, DC: CQ Press. United Nations Environmental Programme (2013). "Guidelines for National Waste Management Strategies Moving from Challenges to Opportunities." Read More