Starting Jan. 1, 2010, South County residents will have a new
garbage hauler for the first time in more than 50 years.
Starting Jan. 1, 2010, South County residents will have a new garbage hauler for the first time in more than 50 years.
GreenWaste Recovery was hired as the new garbage and recycling curbside pickup service for about 4,000 households in unincorporated areas surrounding Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy.
The new contract will provide more garbage-related services at a lower price than a similar proposal offered by the current contractor, South Valley Disposal and Recycling, according to a staff report presented at the Sept. 29 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Supervisor Don Gage said before voting on the new contract that GreenWaste offered “more for less.”
In February, county staff initially recommended a contract with GreenWaste that offered fewer services. But after an uproar from South County residents who felt the county was leaning toward a contract that didn’t provide the services they wanted, staff decided to revisit the issue. They convened a focus group of area citizens to define the desired services, re-bid the contract based on the new criteria, and extended the current contract that was set to expire Sept. 30.
When South Valley’s and GreenWaste’s new proposals came back to the county’s Integrated Waste Management division, staff still felt GreenWaste offered a better proposal with more services and at a better cost to residents, according to Greg Van Wassenhove, director of the county’s Department of Agriculture and Environmental Management.
Starting Jan. 1, the monthly rate for residential weekly garbage pickup for a 32-gallon container, plus twice-a-month collection of recyclable trash, will rise to $24.05 per month. The agreement approved Sept. 29 allows the monthly cost to rise no more than 5 percent per year based on inflation.
The proposal recommended in February called for a $25.85 monthly rate for the same size container. The current rate is $22.90.
For customers who opt to use larger garbage containers, the rate will increase proportionally.
Some new services are included in the proposal staff is recommending, including the offer of a 20-gallon garbage container at a lower rate, and “single-stream” recycling pickup that allows residents to mix all their recyclable products into one container, according to staff.
GreenWaste’s monthly rate would also include 12 vouchers per year allowing customers to haul yard waste to a landfill, in addition to curbside collection of 96-gallon yard waste containers; two vouchers for curbside “rubbish or bulky goods” pickup; placement of larger items on the curb for hauloff two days a year; and annual community cleanup programs to serve 600 households each, as stated in the contract.
The new contract also offers a lower monthly rate for low-income residents, and higher rates for “hard-to-reach” areas.
In February, South Valley Disposal president Phil Couchee said he would likely have to let go of some of his employees if his contract with Santa Clara County was not renewed. He did not immediately return phone calls Friday.
South Valley Disposal’s contract with the city of Morgan Hill to serve residents inside the city limits, will continue until at least 2015. That contract currently serves about 9,700 households, according to Environmental Programs Director Anthony Euhlo.
South Valley Disposal serves about 30,000 households in Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
