Trash Lawsuits Making Their Way Through the Courts

There are currently four (4) lawsuits pending in the courts against St. Louis County, instead of three (3), as has been widely reported in the past.

There are new developments in two of the lawsuits:

 The first lawsuit (three trash haulers vs. St. Louis County) is set for trial on Monday, April 26

 The second lawsuit (two residents and a trash hauler vs. St. Louis County) is set for trial on Monday, May 24

Meanwhile, St. Louis County continues to haul residents into Municipal Court for failure to have the required trash service or for not using the designated county trash haulers in those areas that either did not or could not “opt-out” of the county trash districting program. On the other hand, there are still incidences of non-designated trash haulers picking up trash in some areas without any apparent legal recourse from St. Louis County. So, the program is still a huge mess and it appears that there is a sort of double standard with respect to enforcement, depending upon whether one is a resident or a trash hauler.

Considering the millions of dollars that St. Louis County has spent on their ill-conceived trash program, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the outcome in these cases will be or how the courts’ decisions will remedy this hotly contested issue, but it seems clear that we are now much closer to seeing this issue come to fruition.