By MOLLY DRYMAN

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — St. John Parish and Waste Management will be working together to make sure garbage and debris will be picked up from area neighborhoods, possibly as soon as next week.

At the St. John Parish Council meeting held Tuesday night, Waste Management representative Rene Faucheux stated that picking up debris was not listed in their contract.

Council Chairman Cleveland Farlough said Waste Management continues to make excuses about why regular pickup is slow, blaming Hurricane Katrina and Rita, when “they weren’t doing what they were supposed to do before the hurricanes,” he said.

“I’ve been getting the calls about this,” Farlough said. “We have been working on

this problem and will continue working on it. The people don’t care who picks up the trash, they just want it picked up.”

St. John Parish Chief Administrator Natalie Robottom stated it was true that debris pickup was not in Waste Managements contract, but that they have a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers for debris pickup.

“We have a contract with the Corps and they sub-contracted out for debris pickup,” Robottom said. “During the course of the storm, they

changed contractors and we are currently waiting to find out who is going to do this work.”

Robottom did say, however; that the Parish is responsible for debris pickup and should begin picking up tree limbs this week and hopefully other debris, like wet carpet, by next week.