New Orleans Trash Audit Reveals Big Errors | New Orleans News

New Orleans is paying private companies to collect trash — but a new audit reveals over 12,000 addresses on the service list might be fake, including vacant lots and hotels that handle their own waste. This echoes a 2010 Inspector General report, and six years later, the city still hasn’t cleaned up its data — not even comparing it to water bills. Thousands are getting trash service without being billed, while others are marked as empty by the water board. All this comes as the city debates raising trash fees — stuck at $24/month since 2011, but now costing more than it brings in, requiring $36/month just to break even. The mayor requested the audit before fee changes, and the legislative auditor agrees: accurate household counts are essential before adjusting prices. Now, the city plans seven months of record cleanup using water board and assessor data, plus a fresh cost analysis before recommending any fee hikes. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/56aba710d4d8c535