By Brian Biggane
The possibility that South Palm Beach could end its trash pickup agreement with contractor Waste Management brought three representatives of the company to the Town Council meeting in January.
Council members engaged in a discussion about the prospect of ending the town’s 10-year agreement, despite the fact the contract runs through September. Members said they had heard complaints from fellow residents that the trucks left “drippings” after collecting their trash, and they were generally less than satisfied with the service.
The council ultimately asked Barbara Herrera, community affairs manager for the company, to put together a new proposal incorporating the results of their discussion in time to be considered at its February meeting. The proposal could then be voted on or, if not, Town Manager Jamie Titcomb would have sufficient time to solicit bids from Waste Management and competing companies.
Waste Management in January lost business from Gulf Stream, where the Town Commission voted to end a decades-old relationship with the company, citing a proposed rate increase.
Herrera was joined by District Operations Manager Carlos Diaz and Operations Manager Rafael Oropesa in laying out the company’s case to South Palm Beach officials.
Herrera held council members’ attention as she outlined the advantages of negotiating a new contract with Waste Management: What she described as the “seamless” nature of carrying on with what is already in place; the fact that the company’s Palm Beach County headquarters is only 4.6 miles from Town Hall; the 200-plus employees working in the Palm Beach district, and the 170 collection vehicles operating in the county.
“Any concerns that you have about our trucks or our maintenance procedures, etc., we are an open book to our partners,” she added.
Mayor Bonnie Fischer was first to engage Herrera, noting that the town’s makeup of nearly 100% condominiums featuring dumpsters rather than garbage cans should drive down the cost of the contract.
“Maybe you can sharpen your pencils a little more,” Fischer said. “It’s really easy, it’s five-eighths of a mile, compared to Lake Worth Beach or Manalapan.”
With the demolition of the current Town Hall imminent, Fischer also asked if Herrera could assure the council that all the construction waste can be removed by the company.
Herrera said that with the equipment at the company’s disposal that wouldn’t be a problem.
Vice Mayor Monte Berendes cited a story in the December issue of The Coastal Star regarding negotiations Waste Management had recently with Manalapan, saying that town recommended municipalities should solicit bids for the service as a matter of course.
“It’s like private insurance, you should go out every year and see what it’s like,” Berendes said. “I’m very happy with the service, but I don’t know what else is out there, and I think that’s what we should be doing.”
To that, Herrera responded that when agreements such as the ones between Waste Management and municipalities are not extended, it’s a case of the municipality being “very, very unhappy” with the service provided, adding, “We do not believe that’s the case.”
Gulf Stream ended the relationship after Waste Management proposed raising trash pickup rates by 62%. The commission chose to go with Coastal Waste and Recycling Inc., one of three companies to submit a proposal. The others were Waste Management and Waste Pro USA.
In South Palm Beach, Town Council member Ray McMillan presented what he termed a “beef” with Waste Management, saying residents at his Southgate building have witnessed trucks coming to unload dumpsters overloaded with trash, having the trash spill out while the dumpster is being unloaded and then driving off, leaving the overflow on the ground.
Herrera immediately apologized, pointed to her two colleagues, and promised to address that concern immediately.
Fischer raised one more point, citing recent TV videos stating that much of the recycling efforts being done across the United States instead wind up with the recyclables in landfills.
Herrera assured her that the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority runs a top recycling facility in West Palm Beach and does exactly what people would expect.
Comments