Murrysville, Export, Delmont trash contracts all set to expire this year

Murrysville officials are developing bid documents for the town’s next trash and recycling contract and are looking to keep costs down while still maintaining a similar level of service.

“We’ll be meeting with Export (officials) and Republic (Services) this week to discuss any issues they’ve had during the term of the contract,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison.

In Export, those issues are frequent, according to borough council members.

Council members have been unhappy with Republic Services for some time, discussing unaddressed issues at council meetings and fielding complaints from residents about missed pickups and poor service.

Delmont officials also expressed an interest in joining the contract, despite also fielding a fairly steady stream of Republic-related complaints.

In Murrysville, the most recent contract includes automated recycling but not automated trash pickup, one way to help control costs.

“As an alternative, we’re also investigating a reverse auction,” he said.

A reverse auction, according to industry trade publication Waste Advantage Magazine, allows a price to be set by a client, and the bids that come in cause the price to go down, rather than up. According to the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages and supports the functioning of federal agencies, reverse auctions can help clients save between 14 and 45 percent on service contracts.

“At this point, we believe the best course is to competitively bid it, and if the costs are significantly higher, we could try the reverse auction as a backup,” Morrison said, adding he expects to see a cost increase, after recent contracts in nearby Hempfield and Penn Township saw cost increases in the $5 to $10 range for users.

Recycling also is a sticking point.

“We can recycle a certain range of plastics, but I think that’s a real question that needs addressed,” Morrison said. “During the past year, we were in a pushing contest with our hauler because the recycling market has essentially bottomed out.”

A little less than a year ago, Republic approached Delmont officials about adding an “equitable adjustment” of roughly $8 per year to borough hauling bills, citing the ripple effect that recent Chinese recycling regulations have had on the worldwide hauling industry.

In Murrysville, municipal officials responded to the equitable adjustment by running a public relations campaign to ensure that the correct things were being put into recycling bins.

“The residents responded beautifully and cleaned up the contaminants in the waste stream,” Morrison said. “There was no need for an adjustment because the recyclables didn’t need to go to the landfill.”

Republic eliminated glass recycling in the communities it services, citing the market’s downturn as well as the cross-contamination posed by glass items that break during the sorting process.

“That’s why we started the pop-up glass recycling collections here in the municipality,” Morrison said. “So, a decision needs to be made: if the price comes in higher, are residents willing to pay for a number of recyclables, or should we trim it to the number (3) required by state law to try and reduce those costs?”

Morrison said anyone with input or issues related to hauling is asked to call the municipality at 724-327-2100.