Ambrosino rejects low bidder for Revere trash contract

REVERE – Mayor Thomas Ambrosino said Capitol Waste Services’ complaint-free trash collections prompted him in part to renegotiate a waste pickup contract with the company.Capitol will be paid $1.6 million for the first year of a three-year contract that will include consumer price index adjustments in the second and third year.In renewing a city pact with Capitol, the mayor rejected a lower bid by Somerville-based Russell Disposal, Inc. to collect local trash. Ambrosino said Russell bid $1.44 million but said the firm does most of its collections in Belmont and Dracut.”That lack of experience with dense urban communities led me to be somewhat anxious about switching from a company, namely Capitol, that, for the most part, has provided very good service,” he wrote in a letter to City Councilors.Trash collectors have received mixed reviews over the last several years from residents and elected officials. Ambrosino told the council in 2005 that he had received relatively few complaints about Browning Ferris Industry’s Revere service compared to the number of complaints lodged against former city trash hauler Waste Management Inc.Councilor at-large Anthony Ambit called Waste Management’s service to Revere “a disaster” and urged the mayor that year to review other trash contractors’ bids.”Ultimately,” Ambrosino stated in his letter a month ago to councilors, “the City’s residents benefit more from premium service than merely the lowest possible price.”He added that Capitol’s commitment to hire union workers reflects councilors’ wishes.