Elgin officials give initial OK to new Waste Management contract
Container tags and a pilot program to collect organic waste are part of a proposed new five-year waste contract for the city of Elgin.
On Wednesday, the Elgin City Council's special committee unanimously approved the deal with Waste Management, whose current contract expires Dec. 31. The council is expected to cast a final vote in two weeks.
Waste Management has been a “very good community partner,” Councilwoman Tish Powell said.
The new rates would be $14.89 per month for single-family homes, compared to $13.85 currently, and $10.83 per month for condos and townhouses, compared to $10.07 currently.
Elgin's proposed 2015 rate is “significantly lower” than many municipalities' current rate, senior management analyst Dan Ault said.
“I'm happy to say we still have a comprehensive program and we're still at the forefront of providing that comprehensive program at a competitive price,” he said.
The program will remain “pay as you throw” using the current 64-gallon containers. New containers will have radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags, and old containers will be retrofitted.
Additional items will require a $2.71 sticker, as would yard waste bags except in April, October, November and the first week of December. The current sticker price is $2.54.
The city also received proposals from Republic Services and Advanced Disposal, but Waste Management scored highest during the review process, Ault said.
The new contract requires Waste Management to allow residents to put in service requests online and integrate with Elgin's 311 Citizen Contact Center. The total cost of the program is about $5.6 million per year, of which residents would pay about $5.29 million via monthly fees.
The city would fund the remainder, or $334,700, including $76,400 for monthly household hazardous waste collection with a mail-in syringe program.
Waste Management serves 25,706 single-family households of four units or less, and 5,453 condos and townhouses in Elgin, Ault said.
Councilman Terry Gavin asked about residents whose containers are overflowing. Ault said containers that surpass a certain weight can't even be lifted into the waste truck.
“The RFID tags will help with that, because we will have data on volume and usage from each home,” he said.
Many residents are interested in the organic program, which would collect food scraps, yard waste and other compostables, Powell said.
“I suggested we put this as an option down the road, in two to three years,” Kaptain said.
Matt Hernandez, municipal marketing manager for Waste Management, said one day people might recycle so much that recyclables will be picked up every week and regular waste only every other week.
Wednesday's discussion capped a yearlong process that included seeking feedback from residents via community meetings and an online survey.