Competition for Trash to Save City Money

Service Director Thom Evans thought competition for rubbish collection could result in lower costs, so he wanted to get bids even though the city still has two years left in its contract with J&J Refuse.

The result – Kimble, the newly named J&J Refuse, was the low bidder at a base cost of $154,000 less for the first year and $203,000 for the second. Highland Heights pays $571,000 a year, which was set to increase to $611,000 for the next year of the contract, starting in June. There also is a fuel surcharge of about $40,000 a year, depending on the cost of gas.

"The prices are so terrific that I don't know why we wouldn't want to get out of the current contract," Evans told City Council members at a recent meeting.

Council still has to decide whether to go with the base bid, which is for the current level of service, or switch to plans that include a 96-gallon wheeled bin for rubbish and a 64-gallon cart for recyclables.

"We're able to pick and choose and see what's the most savings and benefit," Evans said. "The good news is that the price of rubbish and recycling collection in Highland Heights is going to go down. It's going to go way down."

There also is good news on the recycling front. Evans said that J&J Refuse used to accept only plastics for recycling that were type 1 or 2. He said the company has expanded what it can take and will collect plastics with recycling codes 1-7.