Clinton Township has issued thousands of dollars in fines to Priority Waste in one month alone for unresolved complaints from homeowners about delays with trash pickup service and has created a new form to better track the service.

Officials in the state’s largest township say they issued more than $48,000 in fines for June and expect more as problems persist into July.

“Nothing makes people more mad than seeing their trash sitting on side of road for a couple of days, if not longer,” said Daniel O’Leary, the deputy township supervisor. “They have a right to be angry because this is is an unacceptable situation. We are angry, too.

“It’s costing us a fortune in manhours in responding to these complaints, as each one is at least five minutes long. Then we have to contact Priority Waste. It’s become a full-time thing.”

Implementing the fines is the latest development with ongoing complaints about the Clinton Township-based waste hauler.

Township board members voted in September 2024 to begin fining the company over a myriad of issues including missed residential garbage collections, the number of garbage trucks, staffing and communication snafus.

O’Leary said the fines are being implemented in the form of payment deductions from Priority Waste. Clinton Township’s contract with Priority Waste allows $50 fines per residence for any of the three contracted services — garbage, composting and recycling — that are not resolved within 24 hours.

“What we are hearing across the board from our neighboring communities is Priority Waste has nearly collapsed in providing the services they promised,” O’Leary said.

The township’s Board of Trustees met in closed session this past Monday to review the situation, but no decision was announced when board members emerged from the session.

Priority Waste is disputing fines

A spokesman for the troubled waste hauler said recent delays were caused mainly by severe weather issues including a tornado in neighboring Fraser and excessive heat indexes of 105 degrees, followed by the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“The supposed $50,000 in fines are in dispute because we did complete the routes within the guidelines of the contract,” said Matt Allen, director of public relations and government affairs.

According to Allen, Priority Waste is supposed to be notified in the morning of missed pickups and has until noon the following day to service those residents. He said the company has done just that.

“We will continue to service the good citizens of Clinton Township and appreciate their patience as we work through the severe weather,” Allen said in a text message.

Meanwhile, Clinton Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem recently released a video on the township’s social media page that asks residents to begin using a form to inform the township of continued problems.

Information on forms, available on the township’s Department of Public Services website, will allow officials to relay complaints to the waste hauler as well as to enforce the penalty provision of the contract, Gieleghem said. He said the forms will be repeatedly checked every day.

Problems have been constant since the company purchased the GFL (Green for Life) last summer, but seem to have grown in recent weeks, officials remarked.

“We as a township had no input or control over the sale,” Gieleghem said in the video. “However, it soon became apparent that Priority Waste had bitten off more than they could chew and service suffered as a result.”

To inform Clinton Township about issues with Priority Waste, call the DPS at 586-286-9300 and leave your name, address, telephone number, regular service day, and what service Priority Waste missed.

Or visit clintontownship/524/trash-collection to fill out the form.