The City of Mount Vernon is comparing bids for the request for proposals for automated trash services.
Mount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch was asking for direction on if a five-year contract or 10 year contract would be what they want to explore, with two companies having the lowest bids for service depending on the length of the contract.
Nosbisch noted that the city received numerous bids for waste management, with ABC Disposal and Republic Services having extremely close bids.
“If we’re looking at a five-year bid, ABC Disposal Systems would be the low bidder for this project,” Nosbisch said. “If we’re looking at a 10-year bid, then the low bid would go to Republic Services.”
Nosbisch said that the waste costs for Republic’s contract were lower in the five year, with a higher recycling bid, but ABC Manufacturing has step ups in their contract every few years that would put their overall bid higher than Republic.
The city would charge a monthly $10.50 fee, which would account for managing the leaf and yard waste program and helping to offset the costs of managing trash and recycling. That would be on top of the fees for Republic and ABC Manufacturing. Those fees for trash would depend on the size of trash containers for individuals and frequency of trash pick-up that citizens would now pay.
Mount Vernon City council member Stephanie West asked about how customer service would enter into avny of the factors being evaluated by the council.
Nosbisch said both firms have communities that can be contacted.
Discussion asked about handing trash hauling on narrow streets where street parking might impact access to garbage cans. Nosbisch said both haulers noted in some instances flexibility to grab containers to line up with their haulers.
Mount Vernon City council member Scott Rose said if it saved money over the term of a 10-year contract, he’d be happy to look into 10-year contracts.
Mount Vernon City council member Eric Roudabush said he was still opposed to the automated hauling, noting it was going to impact people on fixed incomes more, and that the current system allowed people to pay for the amount of garbage they are generating.
Mount Vernon City council member Tom Wieseler said that this will be a big systemwide change for Mount Vernon residents, and that the education component on recycling that will come with this new deal will benefit the garbage and recycling programs.
Glass recycling would not be accepted from any current provider.
The issue with glass is the safety issue it creates. When it breaks, it commingles with other materials including fibrous material and makes it spoiled, decreasing the value of those recycled materials.
Karmin McShane, executive director of Linn County Solid Waste Agency, said glass is also not accepted at their facility intermingled with other materials, as when a glass item breaks, it can damage the sorting apparatus and is hazardous to workers.
“It’s also a lot more weight to ship and handle compared to other recycling,” McShane said.
City of Mount Vernon evaluating bids for waste removal
September 30, 2021
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.