Carpentersville, W. Dundee link up on trash deal
Rather than going it alone, Carpentersville and West Dundee have joined forces to negotiate a five-year extension of their garbage collection contracts, a move officials say helped them snag a better deal.
Each municipality has a contract with Republic Waste Services — Carpentersville’s expired May 1, while West Dundee’s is scheduled to expire Aug. 1.
Both villages would see no increase in the first year of the contract. Prices would go up 2 percent every year thereafter. But in the fourth and fifth year, there would be an opportunity for Republic to reopen negotiations for a higher rate if diesel exceeds $4.40 a gallon.
Trash collection rates for a single-family home are $22.61 in Carpentersville and $22.33 in West Dundee. Residents are not billed separately for collections in either village. Both towns pay for the services through their general funds.
In these economic times, working together to secure the best deal makes sense, as there is strength in numbers, Carpentersville Assistant Village Manager Steven Jones said.
“Anytime you get more than one municipality working on an initiative, it increases the leverage and buying power you have,” he said.
Both villages could restart negotiations if neighboring towns secure a better deal from Republic.
Carpentersville currently uses a large cart for trash and a smaller cart for recycling.
West Dundee would add a new service in which residents would be supplied with a 95-gallon, wheeled cart for garbage — they already use a smaller container for recycling. Right now, residents put out their own trash cans on collection days, Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said.
“There’s quite a high satisfaction with the service being provided,” Cavallaro said. “Now the question is ... can we negotiate a favorable rate in order to utilize those services?”
The West Dundee village board is scheduled to vote on the proposal on June 4, while the Carpentersville board will take its vote the following day. Both contracts would expire in 2017.