A private firm will collect garbage and recyclables in the city of Gillett beginning Jan. 1.
The City Council on Thursday agreed to contact with Great American Disposal, which has its corporate office in Kingsford, Michigan, and a location in Suamico.
City officials have discussed garbage collection alternatives since 2012 because of the cost of the service (the city spent $56,000 in 2013) and the age of the garbage truck. The city’s 15-year-old truck is past its life expectancy.
“Labor is a big thing, equipment is a big thing,” said Ron Anderson, head of the city’s public works and utility departments. “A new garbage truck is a quarter-million dollars.”
City officials requested proposals from five companies and determined GAD would provide weekly garbage and recyclable pick-up at the lowest rate.
Alderperson Terry Nelson, chair of the Board of Public Works Committee, said the cost for the city had not been finalized. City officials and GAD had yet to reach an agreement, for example, regarding dumpsters for events such as the Oconto County Fair, held at Zippel Park in Gillett.
Garbage pickup will remain on Thursdays, but recyclable pick-up will change. Instead of biweekly pickup on Tuesdays, recyclables will be picked up weekly on Thursdays. Single-stream recycling will be offered, so residents will no longer need to sort their recyclables.
“There’s a lot of benefits to the residents of the city, and what it does is reduce our cost for garbage and recycling,” Anderson said.
The council also voted to end commercial garbage pickup, as of Aug. 1.
The city’s plan to outsource residential garbage collection in 2014 hit a snag when city officials learned a recycling contract with Oconto County required that garbage be taken to the MAROCO Landfill if a municipality partners with a private firm for garbage collection. This was determined to be cost prohibitive, and the city continued collecting garbage. The contract with the county will expire on Dec. 31.
The city employees now collecting garbage will be reassigned to new responsibilities, Anderson said.
“We have other duties. We’re already working on a forecast plan of what we’re going to be doing, probably for the next 10 years,” he said.
The city will send residents information regarding the types of garbage bags and recycling containers that can be used.
The city will continue to use its sticker system. Residents are invoiced $78 annually on their property tax bills, which is the cost to purchase 52 stickers — one per week for a year. Additional stickers may be purchased for $1.50 each. These stickers are placed on the garbage bags.
