SWAMPSCOTT — Town officials are looking to negotiate a contract with Republic Services, more than a year after retaining the trash hauler’s services.
The town’s former trash hauler, Hiltz Waste Disposal, abruptly cut services to Swampscott last year on Aug. 31, leading to a quick agreement with Republic a day later.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said Republic Services has been collecting trash and recycling on a month-to-month payment arrangement with the town, but a contract has not yet been negotiated.
“I think we have a very good service level from Republic,” Fitzgerald said. “(They were) able to do a really extraordinary job of getting the town back on its feet. They were able to come in immediately, worked through a weekend and got the town picked up.”
Swampscott was one of several North Shore communities to be abruptly informed by Hiltz Disposal last year that Aug. 31 would be their last day of service, leaving them scrambling to hire a new hauler.
Republic started its services in town two days after the company was retained by officials, picking up trash and recycling materials from three days worth of missed routes.
Hiltz released a statement at the time that said the decision to not fulfill its municipal contracts was made after efforts to continue its residential services proved economically unfeasible for the company.
Fitzgerald said the town is also in negotiations with Covanta. He said Swampscott has a solid waste contract with the company, which expires next year.
Fitzgerald said the town pays about $65 a ton for solid waste with that contract, but that the market for recyclables and solid waste is not good, and he doesn’t expect to be able to maintain that rate.
He said both Republic and Covanta provide services to the town — Republic picks up the trash and transports it to Covanta’s transfer station in Lynn, which takes the material.
“A lot of contracts, your solid waste provider would pick it up and you would negotiate with who would pick it up,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve been doing it a little bit differently for a favorable rate, but a lot of solid waste companies are looking for five- and 10-year agreements because they’re trying to lock up the market.
“I would like to talk about the cost associated with solid waste because I think they will rise and there may be some strategies the town and Board (of Selectmen) can explore that would help us mitigate some of those market conditions that are affecting one of the largest (contracts) that we have,” he said.
Fitzgerald said officials are constantly looking at ways the town can be cleaner and greener and to help constrain costs. As the town looks at negotiating multi-year agreements, he said he wanted to share with the selectmen that there may be other options the town can explore to help Swampscott manage some costs, including ways to enhance recycling and reduce tonnage of solid waste.
