Priority Waste plans for more vehicles and system upgrades

UTICA — During Utica’s City Council meeting on Sept. 9, Priority Waste discussed updates and feedback from residents who use their waste management services.

Priority Waste is a company that provides a variety of waste management services throughout many cities in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. In July 2024, GFL Environmental sold its residential contracts in southeast Michigan to Priority Waste. Utica was one of the communities affected by this change and has been utilizing Priority Waste’s residential waste collection services since the change in providers.

Dan Bennett, a representative with Priority Waste, said that there were some issues at the beginning of this change, particularly with waste being left out without getting collected for long periods of time.

“So, we came in with problems not only with trucks but then also with the volume of materials left,” Bennett said. “So, naturally, residents called us to try and get us to fix the issue that happened the week before and in the first four hours, it was like five (thousand) to 7,000 calls. . . . So, when you go to 7,000 in four hours, it more or less crashed our phone system and it took us a while to identify the root cause of the issue.”

Bennett said that Priority Waste now averaged fewer than 2,000 calls a week, though it also recently was in the process of transitioning to a brand-new phone system through a four-phase rollout.

Priority Waste also is looking into alternative ways through its online system to allow customers to report issues and provide awareness to other issues. The Utica online portal is at prioritywaste.com/municipality/utica-mi.

“Residents may go to their Utica portal and report any issues they have with their service,” Utica Mayor Gus Calandrino said in an email. “Priority pledges this will be quicker and more efficient than their call center.”

Residents are encouraged to scroll down to the area titled “Residential Service Request — Utica,” which includes the form for residents to enter their information.

Also during the meeting, some vehicle purchases were noted. Priority Waste has placed an order for additional vehicles for 2026.

“We made a purchase of 100 vehicles in August of 2024; 68 of those vehicles have hit our parking lots,” Bennett said. “So, we expect the remaining 32 to come in before the end of the year. We have an internal goal to hopefully assist with compost season, but we’ve at least guaranteed by the end of the year.”

Utica Mayor Gus Calandrino complimented Priority Waste’s work with city residents.

“We had a few hiccups in the summer, you know, based on the truck shortages . . . that you mentioned,” Calandrino said. “You guys are always proactive.”

For more information, visit cityofutica.org or prioritywaste.com.