Journal & Topics Media Group

Des Plaines Avoids Garbage Disposal Rate Hike With New Deal


Entrance to Des Plaines City Hall and Police Station — the Civic Center — on Miner Street (Northwest Highway).

With a new garbage disposal contract set to take effect in Des Plaines on March 1, residents can expect to pay $.01 less per month for waste removal services.

Though this amount may seem minuscule, the new, seven-year, $3.4 million contract with Lakeshore Recycling prevents garbage removal rates from jumping by around $5 per month, as they would have if the city had stayed with its current disposal company, Republic, explained Assistant Public Works Director Tim Watkins.

Aldermen approved the seven-year, Lakeshore contract during the Dec. 21 City Council meeting.

Republic Services, the company that provided waste removal services to the city for the past 14 years, told the city last month that they wanted to end the contract — inked in 2014 and expected to expire April 1 of this year — early.

City Council also approved this request for an early termination of the existing contract on Feb. 28.

Despite their desire to end the current agreement with Des Plaines, Republic was one of four companies that responded to a request for proposals issued by the city for new garbage disposal contracts. Watkins said the city requested proposals rather than sealed bids because it enables staff to negotiate more elements of the contract.

Republic provided the highest bid, around $5 higher than the $17.71 rate in the current contract with the city, whereas Lakeshore provided a $17.70 rate.

“It’s purely financial. It’s not that they don’t like Des Plaines,” said City Manager Mike Bartholomew of Republic.

All four companies included annual rate increases based on local changes to the Consumer Price Index, a measure of the price of common household goods and services. Increases are expected to be around 2% to 3%.

Watkins told the Journal & Topics that Republic has been complaining for the past two years that they have been losing money on their contract with Des Plaines. He said Lakeshore is able to provide lower rates because they have more extensive infrastructure, including their own recycling center.

“In spring 2016, [Lakeshore Recycling Services] proudly opened this state-of-the-art single-stream recycling facility, located in Forest View…,” said the company website of the Heartland Recycling Center. “The 40,000 [sq. ft.] facility, which is designed to handle more than 110,000 tons of high-grade residential and commercial single-stream recyclables, sorts, separates and allocates over 20 tons of waste per hour.”

Recycling has become a topic of discussion for Supporting Positive Efforts of Action and Knowledge (SPEAK), a Des Plaines-based activist group. They encourage fellow residents not to purchase non-recyclable materials as a way to protect the environment and reduce the use of landfills, said member Jessica Maag.

Lakeshore does not currently serve any municipalities in the Journal & Topics coverage area, but it does serve 20 municipalities in the Midwest, including the nearby communities of Skokie, Winnetka and Highland Park. City staff said they received good feedback about the company from their other municipal clients.

According to Watkins and Public Works Director Tim Oakley, the new contract with Lakeshore is expected to mirror the previous contract with Republic, down to garbage pickup days and the size of trash containers; 95 gallons for regular trash and 65 gallons for recycling.

During Republic’s last pickup day, they are expected to collect the current containers. Residents should expect to receive new containers from Lakeshore soon, said Oakley.

One change to the existing service would include a billing change from bi-monthly to quarterly payments directly to Lakeshore, resulting in higher payments fewer times per year. Representatives from Lakeshore said residents should contact them to work out a different billing cycle if they need to.

Another change would impact disposal of electronics. Lakeshore requires residents to contact the company to make appointments for electronics disposal. While Republic claimed it would dispose of electronics without an appointment, they often did not take them when left out, said Oakley.

Otherwise, Lakeshore is expected to pick up unlimited amounts of refuse, including large items under 50 lbs. and one item 50 lbs or larger.

“I think it’s a good choice,” said Ald. Carla Brookman of the new contract. Other members of the council also praised the new agreement, which Ald. Colt Moylan (2d) worked on with Public Works staff.

Going forward, residents can expect to receive informational materials from both the city and Lakeshore about the new service, said Watkins.

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