CIty Council Considers $5.4 Million Trash Contract With Waste Management

Twinsburg City Council is considering a new contract with Waste Management worth more than $5.4 million over five years to provide citywide curbside trash and recycling pickup.

The contract had its first reading before the Twinsburg City Council in January. It will be voted on in the coming weeks, and will be back on the agenda during tonight's meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Under the proposed deal, Waste Management would provide all residents with a 96-gallon trash container and a 64-gallon recycling bin that will be used for once-per-week pickup. These containers will be picked up using a semi-automated process that was tested in 500 Twinsburg homes in Ward 1 last year. The automated process involves the way the truck picks up the containers from the curb.

The contract, if approved, is set to begin April 1. The carts for automated pickup should be delivered to resident no later than June 1, but that will likely occur sooner than that, said Public Works Director Chris Campbell.

Over the life of the contract, Twinsburg would be expected to pay Waste Management $5,448,196. The contract is set to end in April 2018.

The annual cost* to the city is:

*Note: The annual costs are only projections because there is a disposal fee that is charged based on the amount of garbage handled by Waste Management.

Campbell said the contract is likely to mean savings for the city. For one, recycling participation is expected to increase by 10 percent to 30 percent, which is expected to reduce the cost of trash pickup. That can mean savings of about $25,000 to $75,000 each year, Campbell said.

And even the later years of the new contract won't be more expensive than the last two years, when the city paid Waste Management more than $1.15 and $1.16 million in 2011 and 2012.

Waste Management and Rumpke both bid for the contract. Waste Management's prices were lower, according to the bid documents.

Click the PDF attached to this article to read details about the proposed contract.

What do you think about this contract? Is it a good idea?