Dive Brief:

• The Hammond Board of Public Works in Indiana has accepted two bids for recycling collection from waste companies. This is a step forward in privatizing the services.
• Waste Management and Homewood Disposal each submitted bids.The city will review the proposals to determine if privatization will save money. The board will also weigh single-stream recycling versus using different bins for each material.
• The city had decided to consolidate four departments: sanitation, recycling, streets and parks.

Dive Insight:

The City Chief of Staff Mark McLaughlin said, "We will not make a move until we absolutely know for sure it will save us money." Savings are the predominant reason behind most communities that consider privatizing services.