Parkland residents will pay about $22 more per year for garbage and recycling pickup under a new contract approved by city commissioners Wednesday.
The new monthly service rate from Waste Management is five percent higher than the current amount, from $35.97 to $37.77.
Commissioners Bob Mayersohn and Simeon Brier voted against the deal with Waste Management after expressing concerns over costs and the level of service. Mayor Rich Walker, Commissioner Ken Cutler, and Vice Mayor Jordan Isrow voted for the deal.
“In this day and age, a five percent increase is almost no increase, considering the increases you see in everything,” Walker said. “Prices have gone up much higher than five percent.”
Brier said he considers the city’s current waste service “the gold standard.”
“It’s hard for me to justify going to what I see as … a lesser service” at an increased rate, he said.
As part of the five-year contract with Waste Management, which will run through 2029, rates can be adjusted each year by the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for waste. The annual rate adjustment would not exceed five percent in any year or fall below zero.
Residents can expect some changes to their waste service, city officials said.
Parkland residents will receive a 96-gallon rollout cart, with the option of using additional rollout carts for $100 a piece. No limit will be set on the number of carts residents can pay for and place outside for pickup. Residents currently use 64-ounce carts.
Waste Management’s team in Parkland will also be switching to a fleet of new, automated side-loader trucks. The vehicles will replace the company’s rear-loading trucks and cut the number of workers on each truck from two to one.
Service frequency and days will remain the same, officials said.
For residents who cannot fit all their waste into their carts, a once-a-week overflow route would be added to pick up smaller amounts of trash and recycling.
Commissioners chose the side-loading truck option over another Waste Management proposal that offered the city’s current service with rear-loading trucks, but came with a 17 percent price increase.
According to city records, commercial dumpster service rates under the new contract will increase 15 percent in Parkland, from $23.46 to $26.98 per service yard.
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