For the first time since the regulation of solid
waste the Sanitation Department is in full compliance with all federal,
state and local regulations.
The administration implemented a long-term solid
waste disposal plan, which called for the disposing of solid waste in an environmentally
compliant Sub-Title D landfill. Today, we send our waste to a state-of-the art solid waste
landfill, at a disposal cost that is one of the lowest in the region. The city's first
recycling program continues to be popular and successful with citizens. The program saves
approximately $375,000 annually in disposal costs and 51,000 cubic yards of landfill
space.
Our clean-up efforts were expanded to include
the city's first street sweeping machines and water trucks.
We purchased several thousand trash receptacles and placed them in key
locations around the city.
We secured a state grant to remove abandoned
waste tires and established waste tire drop off sites. The
Brown-fields Program, which identifies old and abandoned industrial sites for
redevelopment targeted Lincoln Beach and American Can.
The Mayor's Clean Team and the Sanitation
Posse were organized to clean-up neighborhoods. The city supported and assisted
the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation in its efforts to clean-up Lake
Pontchartrain.
The administration rebid the Solid Waste
Disposal Collection contract amending it to increase accountability and service
regarding the collection of residential solid waste. Among the provisions now in place: a
customer complaint hotline; fines when the solid waste collection company fails to follow
collection schedules; and for public identification purposes employees in uniforms and
trucks that are uniformly painted and marked.
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