City of Rossland council decided not to proceed with a five-year residential curbside solid waste collection and disposal contract during a meeting on June 1.
Alpine Group was anticipated to collect waste from approximately 1,560 city households and transport it regularly to the McKelvey Creek Regional Landfill in Trail.
Rossland mayor Kathy Moore said a discrepancy over bags was one reason why the contract wasn’t awarded to the company.
“The biggest issue was the increase of the cost of bag tags in the proposal. Currently, you can either buy a small bag for $0.75 or a large bag for $1.50,” said Moore.
“The proposal was to bring it all up to one size bag at a cost of three dollars. The reason we have the two bag sizes are to reward people who conserve waste and don’t put out a lot of garbage.”
The bag tags, or garbage stickers, are sold in sheets in 10 and can be purchased at Ferrarro Foods in Rossland.
The current waste service model is efficient for residents, according to Moore.
“A staff report points out that if you were to take a current bag of garbage down to the landfill yourself, you’re going to pay four dollars a bag,” said Moore.
“So it’s pretty cost effective to have the service and pick it up in pound by your door.”
The city is currently working on an organic waste reduction plan to divert more waste from the landfill.
Alpine Group was the only company that submitted a proposal for the waste collection contract, according to the city.
Despite the issue, Moore said council has requested staff to continue negotiations with the company to find a solution and hopefully award the contract at the next city council meeting on June 15.
READ MORE: Rosslanders happy with waste collection, but changes possible, says report
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