Russell Winberg of St. Ignace empties recyclable material from his house into a recycling dumpster Wednesday, December 2, at Waste Management's St. Ignace transfer station on Cheeseman Road. The station, owned by Waste Management, offers recycling and bulk waste services to residents as a part of the contract the waste hauler holds with the City of St. Ignace. The City of St. Ignace is requesting bids from waste hauling contractors, since its current contract with Waste Management to provide residential trash pickup and other services in city limits will expire February 1, 2010.

Seeking bids was recommended by the Solid Waste Committee and City Manager Eric Dodson, who said several companies have approached him asking if the city would be interested in switching contractors.

The current solid waste contract provides city residents with the option of weekly pick-up of either one or three trash cans, a special rate for senior citizens, a once-yearly bulk trash pick-up day, a transfer and recycling station on Cheeseman Road, a twice-monthly curbside recycling program, and free dumpsters for various special events in the community.

The cost of the entire contract is about $94,000 a year, Mr. Dodson said, and the waste hauler last requested St. Ignace amend the 10-year contract in 2007 with a 3% price increase, owing to a 3% Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase. According to the contract with the city, the contractor may only increase rates by a maximum of the CPI.

The city adds customer trash fees to their water bills and, after collecting an administration fee, pays Waste Management directly for serving city residents. T he three-can rate is $12.86 per month, the one-can rate is $9.24 per month, and the senior citizen rate is $4.96 per month.

The three-can rate is based on allowing either six 32-gallon bags or three 32-gallon cans weekly per customer, and the one-can rate is based on allowing one 32-gallon bag or one 32-gallon trash can.

Both Smith Sanitation of Rudyard and Republic Services of Onaway have expressed interest, along with Waste Management, in pursuing a contract with the city. Smith Sanitation, which now provides trash service in Clark Township, offers weekly rates of $3 for eight gallons, $4 for 30 gallons, and $5 for 55 gallons, though the rates may be different if a contract is pursued with St. Ignace.

The Solid Waste Committee, comprised of Mr. Dodson and councilmen Tom Della-Moretta, Merv Wyse, and Don Gustafson, identified several key elements that must be a part of any bid accepted by the city at the group's Tuesday, December 1, meeting.

The committee decided to shorten the contract from 10 years to five years and determined to ask for a transfer station close to town, at least twice-amonth curbside recycling, at least once-a-year bulk trash pick-up, and free dumpsters for special events like Car Show, Truck Show, Arts Dockside, Fish Feast, and others.

Mr. Wyse said separating the list of expectations from the service bids is important so the city can fairly compare different prices with different companies that may have a varying scope and quality of services.

The issue of having a nearby transfer station for recycling and bulk waste may be complicated by the fact the the current transfer station on Cheeseman Road is owned and operated by Waste Management.

Mr. Gustafson said it would be important for a facility to be close to town and to have consistent hours for residents to drop off bulk garbage and recycling that cannot be disposed of in residential cans.

"I think it is wise for us to explore what our options are before we just decide to extend this contract with Waste Management," he said.

All requirements outlined by the city will be listed in the advertisement for bids. Mr. Dodson said he plans to also contact companies that have expressed interest. The city will ask for references from all contractors submitting bids.