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After more than a year of discussions and meetings, the Lansing City Council approved a new contract with its current solid waste provider. But there could still be some changes coming to trash collection in the city starting March next year.
The city’s current contract with Deffenbaugh Industries ends March 2012. The city’s Finance Director, Beth Sanford, said earlier this year the city sent out requests for proposals from different solid waste providers, using the city’s website and with other means to look for the best deal.
“We tried to reach as many as we could,” she said of the efforts.
Some of the issues with the current contract that the city’s solid waste committee was looking at during the process, Sanford said, was the “pay as you throw” approach where residents must purchase stickers for excess trash; oversight and billing discrepancies; the question of mandatory recycling; and the appearance, safety and potential nuisances that can arise when residents simply set their trashbags out on the curb for pickup, as under the current system.
The city received four proposals — from Allied Waste, Honey Creek and Jim’s Disposal in addition to Deffenbaugh. Only one of those proposals — that of Deffenbaugh — met all of the city’s stated requirements.
Under the new contract, residents in the city will be receiving 95-gallon solid waste carts and 65-gallon recycling carts that will be taken to the curb for pickup each Thursday. Brent Miller, a municipal sales representative for Deffenbaugh, said those 95-gallon carts will hold about 10 kitchen trash bags. Should a resident need a second 95-gallon trash cart, he said they can be purchased for an additional $5 per month. There will be two “unlimited days” per year following Memorial Day and Christmas on which residents can set out up to six extra bags of trash for collection for no extra charge. Otherwise, any excess bags that won’t fit in the cart will require residents to purchase a sticker for $1.25 each.
Recycling will be unlimited, and a sticker on top of each of the recycling carts indicates what materials are recyclable and which are not. Sanford said also under the new contract, the city will receive a rebate from Deffenbaugh based on the amount of materials recycled.
Between March 1 and Nov. 30, Deffenbaugh will also collect yard waste. Between March and August, crews will collect up to six bags per week of yard waste in bio-degradable bags and between September and November they will collect up to 12 bags per week.
After more than a year of discussions and meetings, the Lansing City Council approved a new contract with its current solid waste provider. But there could still be some changes coming to trash collection in the city starting March next year.
The city’s current contract with Deffenbaugh Industries ends March 2012. The city’s Finance Director, Beth Sanford, said earlier this year the city sent out requests for proposals from different solid waste providers, using the city’s website and with other means to look for the best deal.
“We tried to reach as many as we could,” she said of the efforts.
Some of the issues with the current contract that the city’s solid waste committee was looking at during the process, Sanford said, was the “pay as you throw” approach where residents must purchase stickers for excess trash; oversight and billing discrepancies; the question of mandatory recycling; and the appearance, safety and potential nuisances that can arise when residents simply set their trashbags out on the curb for pickup, as under the current system.
The city received four proposals — from Allied Waste, Honey Creek and Jim’s Disposal in addition to Deffenbaugh. Only one of those proposals — that of Deffenbaugh — met all of the city’s stated requirements.
Under the new contract, residents in the city will be receiving 95-gallon solid waste carts and 65-gallon recycling carts that will be taken to the curb for pickup each Thursday. Brent Miller, a municipal sales representative for Deffenbaugh, said those 95-gallon carts will hold about 10 kitchen trash bags. Should a resident need a second 95-gallon trash cart, he said they can be purchased for an additional $5 per month. There will be two “unlimited days” per year following Memorial Day and Christmas on which residents can set out up to six extra bags of trash for collection for no extra charge. Otherwise, any excess bags that won’t fit in the cart will require residents to purchase a sticker for $1.25 each.
Recycling will be unlimited, and a sticker on top of each of the recycling carts indicates what materials are recyclable and which are not. Sanford said also under the new contract, the city will receive a rebate from Deffenbaugh based on the amount of materials recycled.
Between March 1 and Nov. 30, Deffenbaugh will also collect yard waste. Between March and August, crews will collect up to six bags per week of yard waste in bio-degradable bags and between September and November they will collect up to 12 bags per week.
As for the costs, some customers could see their rates increase under the new contract. Those who don’t participate in Deffenbaugh’s recycling program currently pay $14.20 a month for solid waste collection only. Recycling service costs an additional $4.74 a month. Under the new agreement, every standard household customer would pay $16.69 a month — a cost that includes both solid waste collection and recycling. It also includes a $2 administrative fee charged by the city, down from $2.50 under the current contract.
“We feel like that will be sufficient to cover salaries and the other expenses associated with billing residents,” Sanford said.
There are currently reduced rates available for senior citizens for recycling and solid waste collection. Those too could change if approved as presented — from $11.11 per month with an additional $3.74 for recycling to a flat $13.69 for both services. But Councilwoman Andi Pawlowski said she would like to discuss all of the rate changes in a separate study session in the future to see if the city could also offer reduced rates for low-income residents.
The council approved the contract itself, agreeing to discuss the rates separately. In the meantime, Miller said Deffenbaugh will prepare postcards to be sent to every resident informing them of the policy changes. Typically, he said those postcards are sent out about two or three weeks before the carts are delivered.
“This program starts March 1 so we’re looking at the second or third week of February for cart delivery,” he said.
Nolan Sunderman, Lansing’s director of economic development, said city staff will also be working to get the word out through press releases, on Channel 2, on the city’s Facebook page and through information packets handed out to new utility customers.
