Gwinnett County citizens continue to have the right to choose their own waste services provider. Recycling programs with each provider vary, and rates vary also. Robertson Sanitation and Allied Waste offer garbage service, recycling service of more than 25 items, and yard-waste service. Together, our combined company services nearly 90,000 households in Gwinnett County.

Robertson/Allied can recycle an expansive list of materials, including cardboard, glass and paper. We recycle almost all of the "35 items" that Gwinnett County was planning to recycle, except for several that are hazardous.

Different waste service providers "recycle" different products because of how their operations are set up. "Recycle" is in quotes because the vast majority of haulers do not do their own recycling. They simply haul it to someone who does.

Robertson/Allied Waste owns a large MRF (materials recovery facility) in Lawrenceville. South East Paper, Georgia's largest recycling processor, has operated this facility for over 15 years. This facility is currently able to accept just about every product that can be recycled from the curbside, but some haulers are not set up to transport all the material we can handle.

There is no doubt that multiple companies serving the same neighborhood mean multiple trucks. That's why we work so hard to provide group rates and special plans for homeowner associations. Serving a big neighborhood with one truck is much more cost effective for us and more environmentally friendly for everyone. It's also safer and puts less wear and tear on the roads. We are committed to providing the most efficient service possible because it's best for everyone, and competition demands it.

We're putting together a "Clean-Up Crew" of garbage first responders whose main responsibility will be to find dump sites or problem areas and help take care of them, even working on preventing them from recurring. Working in this county for more than two decades, we have experience in just about every area. We don't see everything but we see a lot. We have not seen dump sites as a big problem, but as we become aware of them we would be more than happy to be involved with solving the issue. One additional note - we will soon be starting up our driver awareness program in which all of our drivers are taught the signs to watch for and what to do when they notice suspicious activity. We're excited about the additional role in making our communities better.