SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The City of Sylacauga has awarded its residential solid waste collection and disposal service contract to GFL Environmental of Alpine as the lowest responsive bidder in bids opened on Feb. 18. The decision was made by the City Council in a special meeting on Wednesday.
GFL will begin weekly pickup on April 1, 2021, under a three-year agreement. The company’s low bid means no increase in regular costs to the city or residential customers billed for the city through the Sylacauga Utilities Board. Rates for larger containers used by apartments are computed under a different formula with varying options.
Base bids received from competing companies including incumbent Republic Services were as much as 32% higher than the cost proposed by GFL.
According to the city’s request for proposals, services are provided to approximately 6,200 residents including 13 apartment complexes, with 32 customers receiving special backdoor pickup due to documented physical limitations. Costs for additional individual containers, currently used by approximately 175 customers, will increase from $5.00 to $8.00 per month.
The $17 monthly fee paid by residents includes pickup of curbside yard waste by the city’s street department.
With virtually no market for recycled materials and a high degree of contamination increasing processing costs and yielding less recyclable material, recycling will be discontinued. While recyclers once profited from the sale of such material, according to the city, they are now paying to dispose of it, substantially increasing costs which would have resulted in higher costs to the city and residents under any new agreement. City officials noted they would continue to explore future viable recycling options.
Old containers will be retrieved by the current vendor, and new ones will be placed by GFL, with some routes and schedules updated in coordination with the city to improve efficiency.
GFL Environmental also serves the City of Talladega.
