Garbage company cuts service to 74 rural, outlying Fallon-area customers

Citing rising fuel and labor costs, Waste Management has cut service to 74 customers living in the peripheral areas of Churchill County.

"We're cutting back in the extreme outlying areas," said Dale Barry, district manager for Waste Management in Fernley and Fallon.

Barry said those sections of Churchill County include Victor Lane and June Drive off Soda Lake, some homes in Stillwater and the end of Tarzyn Road.

"The costs are becoming so extraordinary, in order to maintain a pricing structure, it isn't fair to everybody," Barry said. "We're not happy about doing this. We're trying to do it for the general population."

Notices were sent to customers in early September alerting them their garbage service would cease Oct. 1. Barry said the letter included the phone numbers for Fernandes Disposal and Walker Lake Disposal - the other two businesses that offer residential garbage service in Churchill County.

Barry said it took him four months to reach the decision to scale back service on the furthest reaches of their existing routes.

Currently, residential garbage customers are charged $54 a quarter, or $18 a month, for roadside pickup. Customers who already pre-paid but are losing their service will have their money refunded, Barry said.

Waste Management's district, Fernley and Fallon, serves about 10,700 customers, with a majority of the service in Fernley, where there aren't competitors, Barry said.

Walker Lake Disposal, which serves 250 customers in Churchill County, is fielding many phone calls from customers looking for service.

Jean Fernandes of Fernandes Disposal said she has received several phone calls in the past two weeks, but since he firm is a small operation with only one truck, it is selectively accepting new customers.

To further exacerbate the problem, Waste Management closed its transfer station on Enterprise Way because it wasn't self-supporting, Barry said.