The fight for local garbage contracts is over, with Arrow Disposal Service Inc. coming out on top. The company will replace WastePro in both the city and county.

Supervisors earlier in the month awarded ADSI their trash contract. City aldermen did the same recently.

WastePro made enemies on both boards by not responding to complaints adequately, according to officials. If there’s one thing all elected officials can agree on, it’s that they hate getting complaints from voters about issues they have little control over.

Supervisors and aldermen could only pass those garbage complaints on to WastePro, and trust that they would handle them quickly. When it did not happen quickly enough, those elected officials resolved to do something about it.

Trash pickup is the great equalizer. No matter where you live, who you are or how much money you make, you expect your trash to be picked up on time. And when it’s not, people — young, old, rich, poor — will complain. It’s one of those services that no one thinks about when it goes well, but if it goes badly, everyone is a critic. It’s not unlike newspaper deliveries.

Hopefully, customers will be happier with ADSI, but the company will face the same hurdles as WastePro. It is an inherently difficult task, made more difficult by the realities of low wages.

Considering three aldermen voted against awarding the contract to ADSI, there is the potential the city will revisit this issue again when the new contract is up.

In a testimonial on ADSI’s website, Indianola Mayor Steve Rosenthal said, “The price of garbage collection is important but service is the difference between happy citizens and angry phone calls. The only calls you will receive if ADSI is providing your service will be compliments.”

We doubt that’s the case, but we do hope ADSI can provide quality customer service. If they can’t, this issue will stink up city and county board rooms again soon.