The CEO of Priority Waste announced the progress of the company’s recovery plan following numerous customer complaints across Metro Detroit.

CEO Aaron Johnson sent a letter to residents on Wednesday, July 1, outlining the progress so far on Priority Waste’s recovery plan after numerous communities across Metro Detroit experienced service delays and collection disruptions.

Previous coverage –> Priority Waste apologizes to Metro Detroit customers, outlines plan for improvements

“Our objective is not simply to restore service, but to build a stronger, more reliable company than the one that existed before,” said Johnson. “We will continue to communicate openly, share our progress, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering measurable results. Most importantly, we are committed to earning back your trust, not through words alone, but through sustained improvement and reliable performance which we have detailed for you.”

The letter sent out on Wednesday outlined a 30-day service recovery report.

You can view the full letter below:

Dear Residents:

One month ago, I was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Priority Waste after serving as a senior advisor behind the scenes. From my first day in this role, my focus has been clear: observe, assess, and correct. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge and sincerely apologize for the frustration and inconvenience many of you have experienced. We take full responsibility for the service failures that have occurred. While the challenges we face today were not created overnight, we are committed to addressing them with urgency, transparency, and accountability.

At Priority Waste, we are embracing a culture of continuous improvement. Every day, we are working to be better than we were the day before. Our objective is not simply to restore service, but to build a stronger, more reliable company than the one that existed before. We will continue to communicate openly, share our progress, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering measurable results. Most importantly, we are committed to earning back your trust, not through words alone, but through sustained improvement and reliable performance which we have detailed for you below.

Priority Waste’s 5 Point Recovery Plan

1. Fleet Expansion

To strengthen our operations, Priority Waste has purchased 198 trucks previously operating under rental agreements, as well as 91 new automated side-load collection vehicles equipped with upgraded technology to improve efficiency and reliability. To date, we have received 30 of the 91 new vehicles, with the remaining trucks expected to arrive by the end of August due to manufacturing and delivery timelines. Frequent vehicle breakdowns have been one of the primary causes of service interruptions. As these new trucks enter our fleet, they will improve route reliability and provide more consistent collection service for your household.

2. Staffing Enhancements

Over the past three weeks, we have hired 41 qualified drivers, and our recruitment efforts continue every day. Our goal is to maintain approximately 20 percent excess driver capacity, ensuring we can effectively respond to employee absences, seasonal demand, and unexpected operational challenges without disrupting customer service.

3. Container Reinvestment

Limited investment resulted in a significant backlog of container deliveries and repairs. During my first week as CEO, we invested more than $2 million to purchase 19,000 new containers to begin eliminating that backlog. In addition, we have expanded our container delivery operation from five crews to nine crews over the past 30 days. We anticipate completing all outstanding container requests within the next two weeks.

4. Customer Service Improvements

When service issues occur, our customers deserve timely answers and responsive support. Previously, our customer service operation was not adequately staffed to handle the volume of incoming calls. To address this, we quickly expanded our customer support capacity through a partnership with a Michigan-based contact center, allowing us to significantly improve responsiveness. As service performance has improved, customer call volume has declined by approximately 50 percent.

Ultimately, however, our goal is not simply to answer more calls, it’s to eliminate the need for them by consistently providing on-time service.

5. Recovery Operations

While our goal is always to provide on-time service, we recognize that issues can still occur. When they do, missed collections will be recovered the very next day.

We understand the burden these service disruptions have placed on you and your family, and we sincerely apologize. Over the coming weeks, we anticipate increased operational demands surrounding the Fourth of July holiday, which will provide another opportunity to further strengthen our operations and services. I look forward to providing another update in 30 days and sharing the measurable improvements we continue to achieve. Thank you for your patience, your feedback, and the opportunity to earn back your trust.

Sincerely,

Aaron Johnson

Chief Executive Officer

Priority Waste

MILWAUKEE — There’s a push to get more teenagers working over the summer, but it comes at a tough time.

The number of jobs secured by teens fell 25% last summer compared to the summer of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That trend seems to be continuing, as many services that help place people in jobs report that there are even fewer opportunities for teens this summer.

Milwaukee County, city and school district leaders are working to change that by offering paid internships to high school students.

Spectrum News met up with some of them at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) where they take some job-related classes before starting their internships.

Milwaukee Public School student, Keira Cruz, got into the hospitality and tourism internship.

“I wanted to learn more from it and maybe in the future, become an event planner,” said Cruz, who’s going into her senior year at South Division High School.

Across campus, another group of MPS students is learning how to make their own professional pages and search for jobs on LinkedIn.

“There’s so much stuff out here that you could do to end up where you want to be,” said Mahogonie Wright, who attends James Madison Academic Campus and wants to pursue a career in healthcare. “It’s a pleasure to be able to do anything that, you know, enhances my possible career choices.”

After some classroom preparation, students are paired with a local company, small business, nonprofit or city/county office for seven weeks.

The goal is to match them in the field they’re interested in. This is tied to Employ Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn program.

Teens work 20 hours per week and earn a wage of about $12 an hour.

“It creates a better sense of self for that student,” said Emily Brown, internship coordinator for MPS. “A better sense of purpose, so that hopefully one day they will find their passion.”

Brown said students must demonstrate a commitment before being accepted into the program.

“If we can’t see that you’re coming to school every day, how are we going to know that you’re going to go to that internship or opportunity every day?” she asked.

Paid summer internships for teenagers are in high demand, as fewer employers are hiring seasonal workers.

Brown doesn’t want to turn interested students away, but growth of the internship program is reliant on public and private grants, donations and businesses willing to participate.

“We’re always looking for additional partnerships so that students can extend what they learn in the classroom into the real world,” Brown said.

Both Kiera and Mohagonie acknowledged that these opportunities give them something productive to do while they’re out of school. They’d like to see all Milwaukee high schoolers get this chance.