City not extending garbage collector’s contract
The City of Ottawa won’t extend the collection contract of a major garbage company that continues to struggle to meet pickup schedules for communities in the west suburbs.
Waste Management has been in the city’s bad books because the company hasn’t always collected residential garbage on time. The company has the city collection contract in Kanata, Stittsville and the surrounding communities in west Ottawa.
City council learned from staff on Friday that Waste Management would no longer be collecting residential trash in the west zone starting next June. The city is extending all of its garbage collection contracts to May 31, 2023, but couldn’t reach a deal with Waste Management, so that contract will end May 31, 2020.
A memo from solid waste services director Marilyn Journeaux says council will be asked Wednesday to approve a contract with Miller Waste Systems for the west zone garbage collection.
After failing to negotiate an extension with Waste Management, staff approached the city’s in-house garbage collection team and Miller Waste Systems about submitting west-zone proposals.
Miller Waste Systems already has contracts for the two southend zones, while the in-house team has contracts for downtown and east zones. The city successfully negotiated extended contracts with both groups.
The proposal from Miller Waste Systems for the west zone was the lowest, but still a bit more than what council approved for contract extensions last April. If council approves the deal Wednesday, there will be roughly another 80 cents in annual garbage collections fees beyond what was forecast in April, when staff indicated fees would be about $10 more for garbage collection in each of 2020 and 2021 and about $2.50 more in 2022.
However, it won’t be until June 1, 2020, that Miller Waste Systems begins collecting trash in the west zone, leaving Waste Management to finish its contract at a time when the company is having what the city calls “performance issues.”
Journeaux’s memo doesn’t draw a link between Waste Management’s performance issues and contract negotiations.
However, in an interview in July, the city’s general manager in charge of garbage collection, Kevin Wylie, said the city was issuing liquidated damages to Waste Management and holding off on contract negotiations.
Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower said it varied which part of the trash — garbage, blue box, black box or green bin — didn’t get picked up on the scheduled day, though it was usually picked up the next day. The collection delays in Stittsville go as far back as Easter, he said.
“Residents are frustrated. They have every right to be. This is one of those core basic services,” Gower said Friday.
Gower said there had been improvements during the summer, but the delays returned. With leaf and yard waste soon going to curbs with more frequency, regular collection is even more important, especially on windy days, he added.
“I’ve got to see assurances from staff that there are other options available,” Gower said.
The city says it will try to use its own resources to supplement Waste Management’s work to ensure garbage is collected on time. The city might rent trucks and use a casual labour pool. Miller Waste Systems might help, too.
The collection problems have also reached the desk of Mayor Jim Watson, who recently called Waste Management and asked officials to deploy the necessary resources to meet garbage pickup schedules.
Waste Management communications staff couldn’t be reached for comment Friday afternoon. In July, the company blamed collection delays on a fire that damaged eight garbage trucks at a yard in June.