SEVEN HILLS, Ohio -- City Council this fall is expected to approve a new five-year contract with current vendor Waste Management for trash and recycling pickup.
“I was pleasantly surprised with Waste Management being the low bidder,” Mayor Anthony D. Biasiotta said. “The fact we’re able to have a moderate increase and provide consistency to our residents in terms of scheduling, similar cans and things they’re familiar with is very positive.
“I was bracing myself and council to see a much more significant increase than the 5 percent increase over the life of this new contract.”
Waste Management’s winning bid for the five-year contract, which begins Jan. 1, was $5,449,023. That came in $34,702 less than the next low bidder, Rumpke Waste and Recycling ($5,483,726). Republic Services also presented a $6,366,360 bid.
The mayor noted that the benefit of keeping Waste Management was eliminating the need to swap out cans, as well as the company’s use of natural gas vehicles, which are environmentally friendly with less fumes and noise.
Regarding the cost increase, Seven Hills’ current final option year with Waste Management was $16.15 per household per month. The first year of the new contract is $17.04 per household.
“We were really fortunate, because contracts that were signed in the last couple of years were significantly higher than those that were signed five or six years ago,” Biasiotta said. “If we’re looking at market conditions a year or two years ago, that number could have easily been $20 or more.
“So the option years in our (current) contract safely took us over that period in time. Now, the market for recyclables has come back a little bit.”
There’s more good news for residents, who currently pay $12.41 per month as a result of a resident-passed 2012 refuse disposal levy that brings in $920,425 annually.
“We have $1 million unexpanded in the levy that was not used for trash,” Biasiotta said.
“So we have a $1 million carryover, plus the money that we’ll bring in the next five years. This allows us to cover the total cost of this package without raising the rate on our refuse levy or dipping into our general fund.”