Enough Is Enough.

Opinion | Hans Wilder, Editor-in-Chief, The Watertown Post

After two weeks of excuses, I’m done.

Two weeks ago, my garbage can was hit by a vehicle, dragged across my lawn, and carried blocks away. I didn’t even know where it had ended up until a City of Watertown police officer located it and told me where to retrieve it.

Pick N Go was notified early that morning.

Garbage had not yet been collected on my street. Their truck came through anyway, drove past the situation, and continued on its route. The message was obvious: Go retrieve it yourself.

Let me be clear: I’m not blaming Pick N Go because someone else ran over my garbage can. That wasn’t their fault.

I am blaming them for how they treated a longtime customer afterward.

For two weeks, I’ve heard the same line:

“It’s coming today.”

It never comes.

At some point, “it’s coming today” stops being customer service and becomes a song and dance designed to get the customer off the phone.

This experience has completely changed my position on garbage collection in the City of Watertown.

For years, I supported independent garbage haulers.

I was wrong.

Within the city, garbage collection should be handled by the city.

The city provides accountability, records, procedures, oversight, and a clear paper trail when something goes wrong. Residents should not have to chase private companies for basic service while being fed promises that never materialize.

There is also the issue of how our neighborhoods look. With several private haulers operating on different schedules, garbage cans are sitting along city streets nearly every day of the week. One coordinated municipal system would create a cleaner, more consistent, and more accountable operation.

I’m switching to the City of Watertown’s refuse service, and I recommend other city residents seriously consider doing the same.

And to the other private garbage haulers operating in Watertown: you can thank Pick N Go.

Because of how this was handled, The Watertown Post is now going to take a much closer and harder look at private garbage collection throughout the city—customer complaints, service standards, neighborhood impact, accountability, and whether this patchwork system still makes sense.

Pick N Go had two weeks to make this right.

They chose not to.

Now the issue is bigger than one garbage can.

— Hans Wilder
Editor-in-Chief, The Watertown Post