Diamond Bar : Schools Win in Trash ‘War’

The area’s schools are benefiting from Diamond Bar’s trash war.

As garbage collection companies vie for more customers in Diamond Bar, which is about to set up a franchise agreement with one or more companies, one company is adding a philanthropic twist to the competition by donating money to public schools for each Diamond Bar resident who signs a three-month contract.

Western Waste Industries has already set aside more than $8,000 for 12 schools in Pomona and Walnut, which serve Diamond Bar. Computer labs will receive $2,000.

The schools will receive the funds by the end of October, according to Michael Lowe, the company’s marketing consultant. The campaign started when flyers distributed last month promised to donate $8.75 to the school of each resident’s choice, if they signed up with Western Waste.

Only 10% of Diamond Bar residents contract with Western Waste; the rest have their trash picked up by Websters Disposal, a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., the nation’s largest disposal company.

But Diamond Bar City Manager Robert Van Nort said neither a company’s charitable actions nor its size will influence the city’s choice of collectors for the franchise.

Meanwhile, Websters General Manager Mike Muller downplayed the competitor’s efforts, saying his company has a long history of service to the community and “isn’t going to resort to flash-in-the-pan giveaways.”