Solid waste service update
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.
- What: an update to the Budget Committee on missed bulk trash pickups and other solid waste performance.
- Where it stands: the COO reported improving numbers on 10/20/2026 after adding a second maintenance shift, Saturday sweeps and an enforcement team.
- Next: the administration plans to return with a recommendation on whether fines are high enough.
Scale
- About 180,000 customers served, over 380,000 tons collected a year, about 600 staff and over 400 vehicles in five service areas of roughly 35,000 each.
Problem and response
- Missed bulk trash topped 311 calls (about 2,250 repeat incidents on August 1); Area D was the biggest gap.
- A second shift of maintenance workers was added to keep bulk trucks running; crews and trucks from other areas run Saturday sweeps in White Haven, Westwood and Parkway Village.
- A bow-echo storm downed about 300 trees in rights-of-way; that debris is cleaned up.
- Calls are trending down and 311 answer time is about 26 seconds versus about 6 minutes in August.
Enforcement
- The solid waste team assigned 20 code inspectors to the ordinance; an absentee property owner was cited, the city cleaned the site (about $1,300) and a court date was set.
- State law limits fines, so the city charges removal costs; the city will study whether penalties deter set-outs.
- For trees left at the curb, the code process tags the homeowner, who can take it up with the tree company.
Sources
- 2026-10-20 - City Council Committees (committee-day video, 10/20/2026)
- https://memphistn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/October-20-Committee-Agenda-final-as-of-10.15.16.pdf
Discussion time
About 8 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 - City Council Committees | 8 |
Log
- 2026-10-20 - City Council Committees — COO reported improving numbers and the enforcement push.