GREENVILLE — Out with the blue and in with the green and black — thousands of new trash receptacles have recently overtaken the Danish Festival City.
Following a unanimous decision of the Greenville City Council in March, along with a slight delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, city trash services have now changed hands from one company to another beginning this week.
American Waste. Inc. of Kalkaska, which was purchased in January by Green For Life (GLF) Environmental Inc. of Toronto, Canada, will be taking over weekly waste disposal duties for residents and businesses alike.
For the past 10 years, Republic Waste Services of Grand Rapids has handled those duties, but with the end of their most recent five-year contract, the city opened the services up for bidding going forward.
Republic Waste’s five-year bid came forward at $1,289,399, while American Waste submitted a seven-year bid at $1,190,972. Additionally, Granger Waste Services of Lansing submitted a bid at $1,279,999.
According to City Manager George Bosanic, the city previously paid $929,074 annually, meaning all three proposals represented an increase in cost for the city.
In choosing American Waste, members of the Council cited both the lower bid cost, as well as an opportunity for more recycling, in ending the previous partnership with Republic Waste.
Previously, Republic Waste offered 18-gallon recycling bins for residents to utilize, while American Waste is instead providing an additional 96-gallon recycling bin, matching the size of the trash bin.
“My recycling is overflowing every week,” Councilman Larry Moss said. “Now I’m going to have two big trash haulers, so I will have to find room to store that as well.”
With the additional size in recycling containers, members of the Council are hopeful more city residents will recycle.
With Republican Waste, Greenville City Clerk/Finance Director Norice Rasmussen said 1,417 households participated in recycling out of 2,595 total households that received trash pickup, which stands at 55%.
Items that can be recycled include every type of plastic, aluminum and metal containers, mixed paper, magazines, cardboard, pizza boxes, empty aerosol cans and glass containers of any color.
Items that should not be placed in the recycling bins include “tangles”, such as chain, rope, tarp, clothes, cork foam or packing peanuts, as well as batteries, sharps, medications, propane tanks, diapers, paint, fluids, cleaners and hazardous waste.
For inquiries regarding trash or recycling services, contact American Waste at (231) 943-8088.
Throughout the past week, Republic Waste has made efforts to collect all of its blue trash bins as American Waste has since dropped off its black trash bins and green recycling bins to residents in Greenville.
Republic Waste is asking citizens, if they still have their blue 96-gallon trash bin, that they place it outside on the street curb to be picked up today.
“We would also like to encourage you to keep the 18-gallon blue (and green) recycling bins, they are yours to keep to use in the house to store your recycling in before placing into the large recycle cart,” Republic Waste Services Municipal Sales Manager Matt Biolette said. “If you do not want your recycle bin, simply place it into your recycle cart and it will be recycled. We appreciate your patience and thank you for your years of support to our drivers and staff.”
In making a recommendation to the Council, Bosanic could only give a “soft” recommendation for the city to go with American Waste, stating that the cost would be greater if the city stayed with Republic Waste.
“For the last 10 years we have had Republic Waste Services and they have done a phenomenal job for the city of Greenville. They have been nothing but professional, responsive and clean,” he said. “This time around, things change in the industry, and other companies become able to compete. We’re a big, small town in a rural area. The essence of it is, if you want to maintain the same type of service with the same hauler, it’s going to cost you more. Whereas if you want to make a change, you can reduce the price by $98,000.”
One additional component that will be added with American Waste is the re-opening of the city transfer station on Shearer Road, as the company will rent out the facility at $1,000 per month, making it available to the public for drop-off of bulk items and contractor waste.
“We will be hiring local people and we will train them to our satisfaction to work there,” American Waste Sales Manager Rick Fancon said.
Councilman Mark Lehman said the decision to change companies had nothing to do with the services previously provided by Republic Waste.
“We’ve been very happy. Day in and day out, managing tight driveways, bad weather conditions, I’ve still seen really good things,” he said. “I can see why George didn’t want to make a recommendation, both companies are very good.”
The final difference in changing companies will be the days in which trash and recycling are collected.
Previously with Republic Waste, trash and recycling were picked up every Wednesday.
Now the city will be split into four quadrants (see illustration), with trash being picked up Monday through Thursday.
On a resident’s respective trash pickup day, recycling will be picked up bi-weekly, beginning next week.
“One day a week, it’s been that way since we privatized, but the question is, to what extent is that really a benefit? What’s the value of it, versus the cost of maybe splitting it into fours?” Bosanic asked openly.
According to Bosanic, the last time the city-operated with multiple trash pickup days was when the city performed the service in 1993 before privatization.
By privatizing the service, the city began saving an average of $400,000 per year, and those funds were used to establish the city’s Capital Improvement Fund.