By going out to bid on a new waste disposal contract, town officials say they’re hoping to kick-start the process of dramatically reducing the town’s trash tonnage.
Mayor Bill Murray told Town Council members last week that the town’s disposal habits represent a “big, serious problem,” and said officials are “going to have to take hold of it.”
Murray suggested that a pay-as-you-throw program could be something that the town implements in the future, though he said it’s not on the table as part of an effort to get cheaper sanitation services this year. With the Central Landfill in Johnston quickly filling up, he said, he expects that the state might eventually get involved and implement a statewide pay-as-you-throw program.
The mayor said that “it’s very difficult to convince our residents how you save money,” but said a “tough educational program” could do the trick.
Council members last week agreed with Murray’s move to seek new bids on a sanitation contract instead of re-upping with Waste Management on a contract with escalating fees.
One of the biggest goals of seeking fresh proposals on a trash contract is to possibly get an extension on a yard waste program that currently runs just eight weeks in the spring and eight weeks in the fall, said Murray. One of the issues the town faces is residents throwing yard waste into the regular trash when the program isn’t running in the summer, he said.
Murray emphasized that his move to seek bids on waste disposal was meant only to get the best deal for Cumberland, and in no way indicates that he thinks the town’s current sanitation provider, Waste Management, is doing a substandard job. That company could well end up being the winning bidder, he noted.
“I’m not criticizing them whatsoever,” he said.
Waste Management’s contract with the town is up on June 30, and the company was in line for a two-year extension with the town. The service would have cost taxpayers an extra $40,580 for the fiscal year starting July 1 if officials had signed the extension, instead of going back out to bid. The contract would have gone from $1.54 million to $1.62 million in year two.
Waste Management could well come back with a bid that allows for expanded yard waste pickup at a more affordable cost, said Murray. The company offered to let Cumberland expand on the yard collection period, but at an extra cost of $6,900 a week in year one of the contract and $7,300 a week in year two.
Councilor Robert Shaw said it’s important for all residents to understand how serious it is that the town diverts more trash away from the state landfill, and that costs for waste disposal are increasing. The town’s tipping fee, or amount it pays to send trash to the landfill, is going from $32 to a hefty $65 per ton.
To read the full story, visit http://www.valleybreeze.com/2017-05-10/cumberland-lincoln-area/town-seeks-new-trash-bids-hopes-reduce-waste#.WRV8umTyuME.