Dive Summary:
- The City Council of Berea, Ohio voted to award Republic Services a five year, $4.63 million contract. As part of the deal, the city will move to automated waste and recycling collection.
- Residents will receive new trash and recycling carts as part of the transition. A period of heavy consumer education is expected to help with compliance.
- Republic Services automated collection bid was lower than any of the manual collection bids received - surprising city leaders.
From the article:
Automated solid waste and recycling collection in the city should begin sometime in October.
City Council supported the new system, which also includes a separate weekly yard waste pickup from April through October, in a 6-1 vote.
Members approved the contract with Republic Services for the automated services as the lowest and most responsible bid, at $4.63 million over five years.
Residents will receive separate trash and recycling carts that come in various sizes. Prior to any automated collection truck rolling down the streets, however, residents will see educational material and have the opportunity to attend forums on the new method of trash collection.
"We will do mailings and the city will have scheduled town meetings that I will attend," said David Kidder, of Republic Services. "I have been to about 45 of these meetings in other communities. That seems to alleviate a lot of issues residents may have. We let them roll the carts around to show them how easy they are to handle. We will give residents a four-, six- or eight-week grace period after the carts are delivered."
