The Guam Solid Waste Authority is putting together an action plan to get about 21,000 new customers on board now that mandatory islandwide trash collection is the law.
One of the first challenges will be purchasing 42,000 carts – one for trash, and one for recyclables – for all the new customers. At $90 to $95 a cart, that will cost about $4 million.
The new customers will be gradually added to the collection routes, neighborhood by neighborhood.
During the agency’s board meeting Thursday, General Manager Irvin Slike explained that full implementation could take a couple of years.
“A good planning timeline is mid-2027, based on, again, trying to find a funding source for the $4 million in carts, and then looking at the procurement and then the delivery, it could happen sooner,” he said.
Another challenge facing the GSWA – about half of the new customers are low-income, meaning they will require financial assistance to pay for trash service.
Under the law, lifeline rates for low-income residents will be paid for by grants or legislative appropriations – not ratepayers.
