Appreciating the Folks at Waste Management

Good Day everyone! It’s another wonderful day here in Collier County, and we are preparing for St. Paddy’s Day festivities, which is always fun! We all seem to become Irish at this time of year. Have you ever noticed that the Irish seem to have a lot more fun than many others, and also it seems they all have wonderful singing voices!! I’ve never heard of the Hungarian Tenors, but we have all heard of the Irish Tenors! Whenever I meet someone with an Irish background, I immediately think they must be fun people and love to laugh and sing. I bet many of you will agree. 

Recently I had a problem with my yard waste and I’d just like to say my experience with Waste Management was overwhelmingly wonderful! It appears someone had left some tree objects way out in the backyard that I could not see, but two of my children were here and saw it, so they put the stuff out front for pickup. The people in that department picked up the debris like they are supposed to. The stuff I found on my property looked like remnants from the hurricane we had recently, and that was not what the regular pick could take. I had no way of packing it differently, so I called the solid waste and hazardous office to ask for help. They couldn’t have been kinder and more efficient, as well! We don’t realize how well we have it here in Collier County until the help is needed And cheap! A few years ago, while I was serving as a commissioner, I was approached by another company from another county, who was asking for our business, and they had a “special” offer. So I met with them (they weren’t aware that I was very involved with our departments, so I knew a lot about what they did and how they functioned). The offer from that company was so much more expensive, with less pickups per month, and they had no service like we offer – free pickup with a call in advance to pick up furniture, ovens, stoves, water heaters, etc. In fact, I used to give tours once a year to our residents who would like to see the county’s departments and how they functioned. Boy, those tours were so very popular, and citizens really understood the county after each tour. Jim Mudd, a very savvy County Manager who was with us at that time, suggested to all of us to give tours, and staff was excited to invite people to see their department and the “back of the house.” I took him up on that idea, and it was one of the best suggestions I ever followed. I did those tours, at least four times a year, during all the years I remained on the Commission, and that was 20 years. I hope some of the commissioners take this suggestion and organize tours. It really opens people’s eyes, as well as our own! People can actually see what fine employees we have and learn more about how each department functions and what it offers.