A garbage truck drives down a residential street lined with houses and trees. — A trash truck rolls through a Milton neighborhood as the city weighs changes to how residential collection could work in the future.

Milton households currently choose their own garbage company from a city-approved list. A new 10-year plan could eventually change that system, alter how recycling and yard waste are collected, and give the city a larger role in setting service standards.

The draft Recycling and Solid Waste Management Plan reached the Milton Sustainability Advisory Committee this month after more than two years of surveys, public meetings and discussions with waste companies. It is intended to guide city decisions through the next decade.

No collection change has been approved. The plan itself would not award a contract, change an ordinance or authorize spending. Each recommendation would require separate action before residents saw anything different at the curb.

Eight companies can collect residential trash

Milton does not provide municipal garbage pickup or assign every household to one contractor.

Its current residential-hauler list includes Custom Disposal, Legacy Disposal Services, Kincaid Sanitation, Red Oak Sanitation, Seegreen Services, TNT Junk & Trash Removal, Waste Management and Waste Pro.

The system gives households and neighborhood associations choices, including companies offering back-door pickup or neighborhood programs. It also means different providers can serve homes on the same street, with separate trucks, schedules, prices and service arrangements.

Companies must receive city approval to operate in Milton and submit infrastructure-maintenance fees each quarter. City Council approves the eligible list annually, but customers contract and pay for service directly.

All certified residential haulers must offer curbside recycling. Milton’s recycling rules cover common paper, cardboard, aluminum, steel and certain plastics, while glass is collected separately at Bell Memorial Park.

A single collection system is among the questions

During the planning process, Milton has asked residents whether one company should collect leaves and recycling citywide, whether the city should promote composting and how it should enforce service requirements when a hauler fails to perform.

Those questions do not amount to a recommendation or contract proposal. They identify the choices the city has been examining as it looks for more consistent service.

A citywide provider could produce a uniform schedule and reduce the number of collection companies operating in each neighborhood. The current model preserves customer choice and allows households or associations to negotiate directly with competing businesses.

Cost, contract terms, collection frequency, missed-pickup enforcement and treatment of existing neighborhood agreements would all need to be addressed before Milton could replace any part of the current system.

The draft is a roadmap, not a decision

The Sustainability Advisory Committee reviewed the draft Sept. 8. Its next scheduled meeting is Oct. 13.

The plan is designed to cover more than weekly garbage pickup. It also considers recycling infrastructure, yard waste, composting, special collection events and the city’s broader sustainability goals.

Residents should watch for two separate stages. The first is approval of the guiding plan. The second would be any ordinance, budget item or collection contract needed to carry out an individual recommendation.

Until that happens, households remain responsible for choosing from Milton’s permitted providers. Residents with service concerns or comments on the developing plan can contact the city at solidwaste@miltonga.gov.