Summary
New contract will hand yard clipping disposal to Waste Management for 5 months.
During its April 2 City Council meeting, the City of Springfield unanimously voted to pass an amended ordinance authorizing a 5-month contract worth $1 million with Waste Management, Inc. to handle the city’s yard waste collection.
In the intervening period since Republic originally took over both residential waste and yard waste collection for the City, residents throughout the city have complained repeatedly that Republic’s crews were failing to collect leaf bags and lawn clippings; as of last week, when Republic’s annual contract for the service was raised in the Committee of the Whole, those disruptions had reportedly continued.
Ward 4 Alderman Larry Rockford questioned Mayor Buscher on Tuesday about why locally operated Lake Area Disposal & Recycling was not considered for the contract. The Mayor explained that because the contract was meant to service the entire City of Springfield, Lake Area was not likely to be able to meet the scale.
However, the Mayor added that as the City prepared to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for new waste services at the end of the current contract on August 31, her office would be seeking to break municipal waste services into “quadrants”. In recent years, contracts have been for citywide service, effectively locking out smaller, more local handlers like Lake Area — the proposed split would make it more accessible to bids from smaller garbage disposal companies.
The contract with Waste Management takes effect immediately, replacing Republic’s responsibilities for yard waste collection.
