City expects cut in garbage fees
Goal to pass along $300,000 savings from new contract
Fort Wayne residents will see better garbage services next year for less money, officials said Thursday.
The city released estimates showing it would pay $300,000 less next year than this year by staying with National Serv-All.
Bob Kennedy, city director of public works, said those savings could be deducted from residents’ monthly garbage fees.
“We do know it’s not going to go up, and we think it’s going to go down,” Kennedy said of the $11.24 fee. “We’re just not sure how much yet.”
The city’s garbage and recycling contract task force has recommended the city go with Serv-All for seven years to collect and dispose of trash and recycling. It was one of five companies that submitted bids for parts of the $8 million contract.
The savings for residents could be greater, depending on how much people recycle. Unlike previous contracts, the city will pay less per ton to collect and process recycling than solid waste. In addition, the contract provides the city with half of Serv-All’s profits for selling recycled materials collected on city streets.
Last year, the city collected about 10 times as much garbage as it did recycled materials. In an effort to change that, the new recycling contract allows residents to use one large container for all recyclable materials. This is intended to increase participation by making it easier for people to recycle because they no longer will have to separate paper products from glass, metal and plastic.
Kennedy said 48-gallon or 96-gallon bins will be available for people to use for recycling.
One of the few points of contention on the task force was whether to restrict bulk-item trash collection to three items a month. Currently, there is no limit.
Councilwoman Liz Brown, R-at large, was the lone proponent of restricting the service because it would save the city about $200,000 annually under Serv-All’s proposal.
She said residents would still be allowed to throw away as much normal garbage as they want and could dispose of 36 bulk items, such as couches and chairs, annually.
Councilwoman Karen Goldner, D-2nd, argued that while the potential savings is a lot of money, it breaks down to less than a quarter per month per household.
If a resident had to pay someone to haul away things just once, it would likely cancel out any savings on that resident’s garbage fee, she argued.
The contract will be presented to the Board of Public Works next week and introduced to the City Council on Aug. 10.
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