At Monday night’s town hall meeting, city officials announced that beginning Nov. 1, CARDS Holdings, Inc. will take over the collection, transportation, and disposal of waste materials for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Pine Bluff.
To ensure service quality and minimize disruptions, the contract includes a detailed schedule of penalties for noncompliance. Fines range from $100 for more than five missed collections in a day to $5,000 for failing to complete the majority of collections on any given day. Additional penalties apply for uncorrected missed collections, operating outside permitted hours, failure to clean up spilled waste, unresolved customer complaints, inaccurate reporting, and issues with cart delivery or office staffing.
Mayor Vivian Flowers addressed concerns about the contract, including the 24-hour clause.
Landfill access was another issue discussed during the meeting, which Flowers also addressed.
Flowers also noted that a transfer station could be part of the plan.
Residential billing will continue through Liberty Utilities, maintaining the current system for residents with water service. New residents will automatically have trash service added when signing up for water service.
Before Nov. 1, new 96-gallon carts will be delivered to all residents without requiring action on their part. Waste Management will remove the old carts. At this time, collection days are expected to remain the same, with advance notice given if changes are necessary.
Standard residential service—which includes weekly municipal solid waste collection and one bulk or brush pickup per week—will cost $19.39 per month. Additional 96-gallon carts will be available for $8 per month.
For larger waste volumes, the rate will be $125 per hour for vehicle and crew services, plus $15 per yard for disposal. During declared disasters, roll-off, grapple, and rear-load truck services will cost $175 per hour, with a disposal fee of $175 per ton collected.
Residential brush collection will occur weekly on the same day as solid waste. However, CARDS will not collect brush with limbs longer than four feet or thicker than four inches, debris from commercial tree services, unsafe piles, or volumes exceeding four cubic yards per collection.
Commercial and industrial customers will be billed directly by CARDS. Small businesses using a single 96-gallon cart with weekly collection will pay $24.99 per month, while rates for larger businesses using front-load containers will vary based on size and pickup frequency.
Customers will have access to an online portal for account management and payment options once they receive their first bill.
