Rockford Sun

Amid public outcry over the quality of waste pickup service in the village, the Machesney Park Board of Trustees received an update from Public Works Director Mitch Hilden regarding issues surrounding the service.

The village noted during its Dec. 5 meeting, which was streamed on YouTube, receives its waste service from Rock River Disposal and has been receiving complaints from both residents and village officials about the poor service during the recent fall leaf pickup program. Hilden noted that after a recent meeting, the company had made two runs through the village.

“Staff then posted on the Village Facebook page to let residents know that they were going to take a breakthrough this weekend and resume pick up today (Dec. 5),” he said during the meeting. “We received notification late this afternoon that they made it through the entire west side of the village and that they will be working on the east side tomorrow, hopefully wrapping up the season.”

After receiving complaints from residents, village officials reached out to Rock River to express their concerns about the issues raised, and after a Nov. 16 meeting, the company switched its two part-time trucks servicing the village to full-time service. They also provided maps of where they had been during the day and outlined their routes for the next day.

“Staff will check as many streets as possible throughout the day on Wednesday to verify that we don't see any large piles or hopefully no residents have been missed,” Hilden said.

Moreover, village officials noted during the meeting that on Dec. 1 they met with Rock River to focus on potential improvements in the new year.

During the meeting, it was noted that Rock River will operate three trucks full-time and have a backup in case any issues arise. A GPS will generate map reports, replacing hand-drawn maps.