WM to continue garbage, recycling; city to explore creating own division

Albemarle City Council has approved a two-year contract for Waste Management to provide garbage and recycling services. Over the course of the next two years, the city will explore the possibility of creating its own garbage and recycling collection division.

The contract approval followed a bid process that began in September 2023. Before seeking bids for a contract, City Council reviewed which services should be provided by a contractor and which services city staff should perform. To allow more service providers to bid on the contract, city staff will perform yard waste, tree limb and leaf collection as well as curbside white goods pickup.

“The city advertised an open Request for Proposals (RFP) and received responses from Republic Services and Waste Management. The response from Republic Services did not meet the requested service levels. Waste Management offered comprehensive services at the lowest price,” Albemarle Public Works Director Ross Holshouser said.

Starting in July 2024, the waste collection and recycling fee will increase by $11.03 per month.

“Up until now we’ve been able to shield residents from the significant impacts of inflation in the garbage and recycling collection industry through our previous contract. Our customers have been able to save money over the past few years,” said Holshouser.

Residents will receive the following services:

• Weekly cart collection of garbage.

• Weekly bulk collection of extra bagged garbage that doesn’t fit in the cart.

• Weekly curb collection of items such as furniture, mattresses, cabinets, carpeting, decking, grills and more

• Bi-weekly recycling.

• Seasonal loose leaf collection, which will now be performed by city staff.

• Weekly curb collection of tree limb and yard waste collection, which will now be performed by city staff.

• Weekly curb collection of white goods such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, water heaters, which will now be performed by city staff.

• Weekly curb collections of electronics such as TVs, computers, monitors and more, which will now be performed by city staff

“We’re looking forward to city staff performing leaf collections starting in the fall. We’ve listened to our residents who want to see the quality and consistency of this service improved,” said Holshouser.

The City of Albemarle will explore the possibility of bringing solid waste and recycling services in-house once the two-year contract with Waste Management expires.

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