City of Thousand Oaks shifts to Athens Services
On Jan. 1, Athens Services, a privately owned family garbage business, replaced Waste Management and EJ Harrison and Sons companies in serving the Thousand Oaks residents for garbage pick up and additional services. The prior companies had been serving Thousand Oaks since 1998. The city opened for bid after the City Council collectively decided to not renew their previous contract like they had in the years past. The vote conducted by the City Council passed 5-0.
Athens will now be in charge of 38,000 homes and 1,200 commercial customers throughout Thousand Oaks, as stated by Athens Services. According to the Ventura County Star, the new trash company’s flat monthly rate is $24.36 per house for Thousand Oaks residents which is 25 percent less than the old costs of $33.54 per house for EJ Harrison and $33.75 for Waste Management.
Rod Cordova, Assistant Analyst of Thousand Oaks Public Works, said that there were multiple considerations taken into account when making the decision. “Athens rates did happen to be lower than the other two proposers, but Athens also scored highest in nearly all the other categories,” Cordova said. These categories included qualification, technical approach, sustainability, and customer service plans.
Matt Trouts, Athens Sales Manager of Ventura County, said their locality aids in the low costs. “We’re a private owned company right here in Southern California. That helps us keep our rates down all over Southern California because we are never caught off guard,” Trout said.
Trouts believes that Athens has other assets that distinguish them from the other three companies that were part of the bid: EJ Harrison, Waste Management, and American Reclamation. “I think we’re the leaders definitely when it comes to composting, recycling, and communicating with our communities,” Trouts said.
Throughout the recent weeks, some controversy has arisen within neighborhoods due to the change. Both Josiah Burns and Melanie Rudas, residents of Thousand Oaks, share a worry about unknown additional fees and changes in their monthly bills. “I have heard some concerns about maybe getting some fees if your lid is open which concerns me a bit because I don’t want to get nickel and dimed,” Rudas said.
Similarly, Burns feels uninformed about the company’s fees policies. “If I’m gonna get charged fees I would like to have a fee schedule up front so I’m more informed and can understand the structure better,” Burns said.
However, Rudas does see a benefit to the new trash company. “I think with the old company their trucks were really loud and the new trucks are quieter,” Rudas said.
The transition is a change for all, but Athens holds confidence that their service will adjust to the new phase. “Yes, we’re going to experience some hiccups along the way during this transition period but once the dust settles, Athens is gonna do a great job just as the previous haulers did,” Cordova said.
