Nahant prepares to put trash contract out to bid

NAHANT – The town’s existing five-year waste removal contract with Northside Carting expires June 30 and town officials are preparing to put the contract out to bid.Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said the town currently pays the Andover-based Northside Carting $288,000 a year for collecting trash and recyclables in town.Cullinan said he expects to have the bid documents ready in February, which gives the town more than enough time to select a new vendor if it decides to do so. He explained the state does not require municipalities to put trash collections contracts out to bid but he is hoping the town might be able to save money by putting it out to bid again.”It’s a tough market right now and that could work to our advantage,” he said. “Given the current economic conditions it is prudent to put it out to bid and test the market to see if we can get a better price.”Cullinan said his decision to put the contract out to bid has nothing to do with the quality of services the town is receiving.”There are always some complaints with trash collection no matter what vendor you are using,” he said. “But we’ve had no major complaints with them.”Cullinan said he would continue to look at contracts the town has with outside vendors to try to find additional ways to save the town money given the current fiscal crisis and the likelihood of cuts in state aid.”We need to save money wherever we can,” he said. “We’re trying to find ways to do it that will not have an adverse impact on services we provide to residents.”