Waste Management in
East Tawas (MI)

Zero stars. Terrible. Go with Travis Sanitation.

I want to share my experience with our local WM garbage removal after months of ongoing issues and an extremely disappointing response from management. Over the past several months, our garbage cans were repeatedly slammed onto the ground and left scattered in the road. We initially assumed this was unavoidable due to the automated claw system. However, about three weeks ago, I happened to be home and decided to observe the pickup to see if there was anything I could do differently on my end. Both cans were placed on the left side of my driveway, spaced 3–4 feet apart, and not near our mailbox cluster. I watched the driver slam the second can onto the pavement, then drive off and strike the can with the truck. The can ricocheted into our mailbox, damaging the hinge and gouging the plastic garbage can. I witnessed this firsthand and captured photos and video afterward. I submitted a complaint requesting resolution and a credit to cover the mailbox hinge repair. A local branch manager called me and claimed he reviewed their footage and that nothing happened. I explained that I personally witnessed it and had photo and video evidence. He insisted their trucks have 360-degree cameras and that no incident occurred. After I pushed back, he said he would speak to the driver and call me back. Hours later, he called again and said he was at my house and didn’t see any damage. When I explained the damage was to the mailbox hinge, he dismissed it, stating, “Well, it’s old, so that’s probably why.” He continued to insist nothing occurred, suggested I must have seen it wrong, and implied it was another truck (plow truck, local garbage etc.), despite my video clearly showing a WM truck. When I asked to simply send him my photos and video, he became defensive, refused to answer, and abruptly ended the conversation. Shortly after, WM closed my ticket as “resolved” and uploaded selectively chosen still frames from their footage to make it appear as though my can was placed next to the mailbox and tipped over on its own, placing blame on me for improper placement. This was misleading and contradicts both my video and what actually occurred. My footage shows the truck reversing and the driver exiting the vehicle to retrieve and reposition the can after impact, which they said “would have been caught on their cameras” and didn’t happen. I ultimately cancelled our service—not because of a damaged mailbox hinge, but because of the dishonesty, refusal to review customer evidence, and a manager who appeared more focused on deflecting blame than resolving a legitimate issue. This experience reflects extremely poor customer service and a troubling lack of accountability. I would highly recommend choosing one of our local services like S&C or Travis Sanitation over WM if you can.

We moved and forgot to cancel. That’s our bad. We paid for two months but they didn’t have to do a single pickup. My husband remembered and called and canceled. They are now charging us an extra $75 to come get the bin. When asked if we could drop it off to them they said no and this fee is mandatory. They don’t let you know this so be aware when starting services with them. It’s also weird how it wasn’t “allowed” to transfer services to the next person who lives there but we were allowed to transfer trash services between homes 5 months back. Took the bin from our old house to the new house without being charged. I’d call on multiple days and see what and who you get. Each phone call and representative seems to have their own personal set of rules.