Amid an overhaul of Harrisburg's trash and recycling programs, city officials have discovered 22 commercial accounts with unpaid balances that could reach $1 million.
Some of the disputed accounts date back to at least 2008, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who revealed the unpaid bills during a City Council committee meeting Wednesday night. In some cases, the city continued to pick up trash for commercial customers years after they refused to pay their bills, he said.
The alternative was to leave mounds of rotting trash around the city, Public Works Director Aaron Johnson said.