PORTAGE, Mich. — Starting in March, all Portage neighbors will be using the same trash provider: WM. But around 4,000 neighbors have signed a petition hoping to change that decision.
Drive down any given street in Portage on garbage day, and you'll notice something distinctive about the trash cans lining the curbs.
"We are a 35-year-old company here in Kalamazoo. We earned 71% of Portage, on hard work," said Chris Phillips, general manager of Best Way and petition collector for Taking Back the Trash.
Many trash cans belong to local waste company Best Way, where Phillips has worked for two decades.
In July, the City of Portage chose a single haul trash provider and went with the lowest bid for WM. That decision boxed Best Way out of the market.
READ MORE: City of Portage votes to approve single-haul trash provider
"Leading up to and following the July 22 decision by the city of Portage, we got lots of encouragement by our customers to push back on the decision on their behalf," Phillips said.
Since then, the petition process started, called Take Back the Trash.
"Taking Back the Trash, the language, is designed to reset the ordinance based on what we are operating under now. Which is an open market. Haulers would have to register to operate within the City of Portage," Phillips said.
The petition has gotten more than 4,000 signatures. Only 1,300 are needed to get the issue on the May ballot, according to the Portage clerk. The petition was turned over to the City of Portage on Dec. 29.
Watch Julie Dunmire's video story below:
I spoke to the City of Portage clerk about the verification process.
"With any petition, it's going to be governed by Michigan election law. We have to verify that the form follows the Michigan guideline for petitions. That the circulator information follows the required guidelines. That the voters' information is correct. That the registered address is followed. That they're a registered voter, first and foremost, that their signature matches forms," said Erica Eklov, City Clerk for the City of Portage.
The clerk's office has 10 days to canvas the signatures.
"The petition, if there are enough signatures, will be presented to the City Council at their next regular meeting. If there aren't enough signatures, then we notify the submitter, and we give them, per the charter, they have 10 days to supply additional signatures," Eklov said.
The next regular meeting where this will be presented is Tuesday, Jan. 13. FOX 17 neighborhood reporter Julie Dunmire will be there covering the outcome.
Meanwhile, Portage residents are expected to begin transitioning their trash service provider at the end of February.
READ MORE: Portage transitioning to single trash hauler system
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