Altoona, Pennsylvania, is proposing to replace its current private trash collection system with a municipal single-hauler contract to help combat blight, but opponents say that the city is removing consumer choice.
Over the past decades, Altoona has taken aggressive action to remediate wide spread blight in the city. Now, Altoona is striking at garbage. With close to half of city code complaints regarding the accumulation of trash, the city's building code inspectors are spending much of their scare time and resources chasing trash offenders, while refuse piles up and decays.
A city commissioned study says that switching to a single contract hauler would save the city and residents money, by collecting all accumulated trash and negociating a volume rate with the local landfill.
Opponents, including the local private haulers, worry the new system would lead to a monopoly.
FULL STORY: Study Supports Contracting With One Hauler
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