Government

Town Signs Two Hauling and Disposal Contracts

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a pair of two-year contracts for waste and recycling disposal. The elected body at its June 28 meeting voted 3-0 to approve a $252,766 contract with Stamford-based City Carting for the hauling and disposal of construction debris and yard waste from the Transfer Station, and a $169,383 contract with Danbury-based Oak Ridge Waste & Recycling to haul recycling material. City Carting was the low bidder for the first contract, hauling at $50 per ton of yard waste and $195 per “pull,” Mann told the selectmen at their meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. A pull means “every time we take a dumpster out of the [Transfer Station] yard it costs money,” Manns said. The rates compare to $45 and $175, respectively, last year.

Government

‘They Know They Made a Mistake’: Town Goes with City Carting for New Disposal Contract

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After the town turned away from its longtime recyclables hauler due to difficulty with the Stamford-based company, municipal officials last week approved a new contract with the same company for disposal of brush and construction debris. At $137,400 per year, City Carting came back with the lowest bid for the work because they “want back in,” according to New Canaan Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent of Solid Waste Don Smith. “They know they made a mistake,” Smith told members of the Board of Selectmen at their June 23 meeting, held via videoconference. 

“It’s the management that is the problem but actually the people that I deal with it’s not their fault it’s the ones above them that have caused major issues so they are trying to get back into the good side of things” Smith said. He added, “The lower guys are trying to make up for what the people up top have done, basically, just by ignoring us.”

He referred to an issue that surfaced last year, where town officials said New Canaan was paying $85 per ton on recyclables while Wilton was paying $65 per ton for similar services. Smith said in January that he’d been unable to reach City Carting to get an explanation for the discrepancy, and in April the town turned to a Danbury-based hauler.

Government

Officials: Trash-Collecting Company Non-Responsive To Inquiries Regarding High Rates

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Town officials said Tuesday that they’ve been unable to reach a Stamford-based garbage and recycling collection company for a reason why New Canaan is paying about 30% more than neighboring Wilton for a similar service, and will seek a new contractor. 

The town pays City Carting about $85 per ton for recycling services, compared to Wilton’s rate of $65 per ton, according to Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent of Solid Waste Don Smith. 

“I can’t get ahold of nobody,” Smith told the Board of Selectmen when asked whether City Carting had justified the $20 difference. “I have sent emails, phone calls and text messages and nobody has gotten back to me since our last time we had this [discussion] in November.”

The comments can as the Board approved payment of about $64,000 to City Carting for invoices racked up the past three months. The town since July 1 has been using the company without a contract. 

Smith told the selectmen during their regular meeting at Town Hall that a request for proposals will go out next week. “I’m sending it to all three major companies in the area and hopefully someone else will just respond and go after it,” Smith said. The two other companies are located in Shelton and Bridgeport, he said.

Board of Selectmen

Officials: Trash Collector Charging New Canaan 30% More Than Neighboring Wilton

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New Canaan since July 1 has been working without a contract with a Stamford-based garbage and recycling collection company that’s charging the town about 30% more than neighboring Wilton for a similar service, officials said last week. The town had put its contract for pickup and disposal out to bid and City Carting was the only company that responded “and the prices went up from last time,” according to Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent of Solid Waste Don Smith. “They are charging us $85 [per ton] right now, Wilton is being charged $65,” Smith told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Nov. 19 at Town Hall. “The other towns have long-term [contracts] for different reasons so their prices may be better, or probably are better than ours.