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Three Companies Vie For Trash Contract That Begins In 2024

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Three garbage companies are hoping to secure a 10-year trash collection contract with the village of Islamorada that begins Jan. 1, 2024. Five council members making the final decision will base their decision on a ranking of each company’s proposal and a recommendation from an evaluation committee that met June 6.

Council members are set to choose among two smaller, local companies – Atlantic Trash & Transfer of Key Largo or Island Disposal Company of Tavernier – or Waste Management, the village’s current trash hauler, at a June 8 meeting. Trash collection services within the village will remain the same with the new contract, with two household garbage pickups a week, one recycling pickup and one yard debris pickup per week.

In February, the dais decided to forgo a five-year renewal option with Waste Management and send a solid waste services contract out to bid. It came after the village council received word that Atlantic Trash & Transfer was interested in providing garbage pickup.

Before its contract with Waste Management, Islamorada’s trash hauler was Advanced Disposal — that agreement dated back to 2013.

In October 2020, Waste Management acquired Advanced Disposal for $4.6 billion. It was a welcome change for the village, which experienced ef- ficiency issues with Advanced Disposal before the acquisition. Trucks frequently broke down, leaving full trash cans by the road. Eventually, those issues subsided as Waste Management’s fleet took over services.

Some 4,385 properties and 289 commercial customers receive garbage, yard waste and recycling collection.

Proposals Examined June 6

A request for proposals (RFP) for trash collection was released March 6. The initial deadline for interested companies was April 11, but that was pushed back to May 16 due to a large number of questions and inquiries into the RFP.

A committee met June 6 to evaluate the proposals and recommend a company for the council to consider on June 8. The committee will recommend the council select Island Disposal Company as the trash hauler. The committee was composed of Village Manager Ted Yates; Maria Bassett, finance director; A.J. Engelmeyer, public works director; and Mayor Buddy Pinder and Councilman Henry Rosenthal.

A decision to send the services out to bid was supported by Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney, Councilman Henry Rosenthal and Councilwoman Elizabeth Jolin.

“I’m interested in saving the residents money,” Mahoney said during the February meeting. “There might be a better option out there. It’s prudent for us to look into it.”

Councilman Mark Gregg proposed the idea of sending out an RFP while negotiating with Waste Management. Attorney John Quick told the council that wasn’t allowed. Pinder acknowledged that he wanted to avoid issues that Port St. Lucie residents saw with its trash and yard waste service. According to a March 2022 report by the Treasure Coast Newspapers, the city’s trash collector, Waste Pro, sent a letter acknowledging a breach of contract and a six-months notice that they’d be terminating service. It came after the company threatened to cancel its contract after the city didn’t pay back $1.2 million of the administrative charges the city withheld the past three years for what it deemed poor service.

BREAKING DOWN SINGLE-FAMILY TRASH COLLECTION RATES

Pricing information obtained by Keys Weekly shows the cost for trash collection, hauling and disposal for single-family residences in the village throughout the 10-year contract. A proposal by Atlantic Trash & Transfer detailed a monthly cost of $39.08, or $468.96 a year. Island Disposal proposed a monthly cost of $41.01, or $492.12 a year. Waste Management’s proposal detailed a monthly cost of $123.64, or $1,483.68 a year.

Trash Companies Address Council Before The Rfp

Addressing the council in February, Greg Sullivan, district manager for Waste Management, said the service over the last 20 months was better than before with Advanced Disposal.

“Advanced Disposal did suffer because they were the stepchild of West Palm Beach (Waste Management headquarters). They had to get trucks from there and if they had trucks break down, it took days to get a truck down.”

Brian Lindback, of Island Disposal Company, is former owner and operator of Key Largo’s Atlantic Trash & Transfer. Since 2008, the company has provided roll-off Dumpsters, large Dumpster bags and porta-potties. Lindback wrote to the village council members earlier in the year to express interest in bidding on garbage collection services in the village. He said he sold his company to concentrate on running solid waste in the village.

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