New Trash Company Takes Over Salem Trash Collection; Three Key Changes

Salem has finalized the terms of a proposed 10-year contract with Waste Management to take over the city’s trash and recycling collection services. The company will be starting in Salem on an interim basis on Monday, June 1, and the proposed contract is scheduled to take effect July 1 after City Council votes on June 11.

“This contract is the end result of many months of declining service from the previous contractor and numerous violations of their contract,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll said in a news release. “I am very excited to move forward with this new opportunity to provide a more high quality customer service for Salem’s residents and businesses.”

The contract will run through June 30, 2025, with an additional five-year extension possible after that with the City Council’s authorization.

The contract calls for Waste Management to implemented automated collection where feasible throughout the City starting in November 2015.

The company will provide 64-gallon trash carts and 96-gallon recycling carts, one per household, with additional carts available for rent annually. The wheeled and lidded carts can be easily moved and, where possible, automatically emptied into Waste Mangement trucks. Only materials inside the carts will be collected, with the exception of official overflow bags. Carts damaged by the company during collection will be replaced at the company’s expense.

Trash will be collected weekly and, starting in November, recycling will move to every other week collection. There is currently no plan to change collection routes or pick-up days, though that might change at the company’s discretion in the future. Any changes will be announced well in advance.

Another key change is that recycling will be changing to single-stream: recycling no longer needs to be sorted separately between paper and glass, metal, and plastic. It can be all be put curbside in one receptacle.

Also different than before, starting June 1, residents must call the Waste Mangment Customer Service line (800-972-4545) in order to schedule collection of a bulky item on their pick-up day. The pick-up must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance of the regular collection day.

While trash and recycling collection will cost the city more than the previous contractor, about $335,000 more per year on average, a portion of this cost difference will be offset by funds withheld from and to be paid by the previous contractor and by a proposed increase in the city’s trash fee, charged to residential rental properties and commercial properties that have pick-up under the City’s contract.

The company’s proposed prices are about 20 percent less than what they bid on the city’s trash collection contract in 2013 when it was previously put out to bid. In year 1 of the contract, Waste Management’s total price is $426,058 less than their 2013 proposal to the city, which, at the time, also did not include the automated collection., according to city officials.

The contract requires the approval of the City Council and was submitted to them yesterday, May 28. The Council’s Committee on Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs will meet on the contract on June 4 and a final vote by the full Council is expected at the regular meeting of June 11.