The City of Meridian and Waste Pro are working to educate residents on changes to garbage service ahead of their new garbage contract going into effect October 1.

In a work session Tuesday, the city council heard from Waste Pro employees about what was being done to help ease the transition to the new garbage service. Waste Pro Regional Vice President Christopher Lockwood said the new contract would need to include a grace period to help residents adapt to new rules on what can and can’t be put out.

Lockwood said Waste Pro is recommending a 60-90 day grace period in which Waste Pro would pick up all the garbage put out. The grace period, he said, would also give Waste Pro and the city time to educate residents on the garbage changes.

“If we just pull the plug right away, it’s not going to go well,” he said.

Under the new contract, residents will have one 96-gallon trash can provided by Waste Pro. In addition to the Waste Pro can, residents are allowed an additional container up to 50 gallons and up to 50 pounds in weight. No recycling service will be offered, but the council has the option of adding it at a later date.

Households needing more capacity will be able to get additional trash cans provided by Waste Pro for an additional monthly fee.

In the past, the city’s old contract required garbage providers to pick up all trash left on the curb, which drove up the price for each household, Lockwood said. Under the new contract, the city and Waste Pro hope to shift the cost for that extra trash to those that produce extra garbage.

Lockwood said the capacity limits would also be relaxed around the holidays when households traditionally have extra garbage. The three main holiday periods, he said, were Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and the Fourth of July.

Over the next several weeks, Lockwood said, a mailer would be sent out to all households informing them of the change in service and things they need to know to make sure their garbage is picked up. Waste Pro also plans to produce short videos highlighting both good and bad examples of what to do, which will be posted on social media for residents to see.

Once the new service starts, stickers will be placed on residents’ current trash cans to help remind them of the new rules. The old containers will eventually be swapped out for Waste Pro containers. Lockwood said Waste Pro planned to do the swap in the first quarter, but an exact date for the change has not been set.

The hardest part of switching over to the new serve will be educating Meridian residents on what they can and cannot put out for garbage pickup, Lockwood said. It will happen, he said, but it will take time for the adjustment to occur.

“Really it’s a fluid situation,” he said. “We need to see where we’re at with each 30 days.”

Councilman George Thomas said he would like to see a plan from the city on how to enforce the rules once the grace period ends. What will stop residents from just leaving the trash Waste Pro won’t pick up on the curb, he asked.

Community Development Director Craig Hitt said the city does have an ordinance, but the city would need to crack down on enforcing it.

“Usually when we have a situation like that, you call public works and they send somebody out to pick it up,” he said. “Well, you’re not addressing the problem by going out there and picking it up.”

City Attorney Will Simmons said there is process that the city can go through to issue tickets to homeowners who don’t pick up garbage. The process is slow, he said, but it can be done.

Whether or not the city decides to up its enforcement, Hitt said, public works will likely need to be sent out anyway.

“The reality is we’re just going to have to pick it up,” he said. “But we can still fine them. We can document it, and we can take pictures of it.”

Between traditional media, social media and mailers, Waste Pro and the city hope to make sure residents understand what will and won’t be picked up as the city’s garbage service transitions to the new carrier.