Jan. 17—Sierra Marling

In the month of December, there had been reports of issues with trash pickup in the city of Berea. Those issues were also referenced in a city council Meeting on Jan. 3.

Rose Beverly, City Administrator for the City of Berea, confirmed that Waste Connections was running behind at that time due to damages to their trucks from inclement weather that coincided with the holidays.

"It all came together in bad timing and caused extra delays," she said. "They are currently all caught up."

In an announcement from Waste Connections, the company says that it will be moving more customer service initiatives online to better serve customers. For example, they hope to be able to more efficiently assist its customers and notify them of trash pickup issues when customers download their WasteConnect™ Mobile App.

According to the literature, the company claims the app can be used to view your pickup schedule, receive instant service alerts, look up how to properly dispose of confusing items, and pay your bill.

There is also a QR code — which can be scanned with a phone camera to take users to a webpage — that directs customers to some of the most common help prompts, such as "bulk item pickup" and "delivery issue."

From there, customers can also call the customer service line to speak to their new after-hours Voicebot, which is powered by AI. Waste management estimates that she is accurate enough to reduce the need for next-day customer callbacks by 70% by taking payments, relaying pickup schedule information, letting customers know about any upcoming holiday schedule changes, and giving the proper disposal method instructions for any given item.

To keep trash pickup efficient, officials from the City of Berea note that trash should always be bagged and kept in a trash receptacle.

For those who have issues with their trash service that cannot be resolved with the new online resources, customers should reach out to Waste Connections by calling their customer service line for Waste Connections is 844-708-7274.