Florida city negotiates Waste Management franchise agreement

Destin, Florida, city council will negotiate a new five year contract with Waste Management (WM), based in Houston, for its recycling and waste services, a report by the Destin Log says. The city’s current extension of a five-year franchise agreement with WM expires Sept. 30.

Currently, residents pay $21.10 per month for trash pickup twice per week and recycling and yard waste pick up once per week. WM serves 5,300 residential customers in Destin.

The proposed contract includes replacing residents’ existing 18-gallon recycling bins with 96-gallon carts. The Okaloosa County Commission recently approved the container size switch for WM’s unincorporated customers.

Destin’s current agreement with WM includes a senior citizen discount that allows city seniors to use a 64-gallon trash cart once per week instead of the standard 96-gallon carts twice per week. Senior citizens also pay $16.98 per month, a $4.12 discount.

According to the report, 450 seniors currently pay the discounted rate and the proposed contract will continue to include a senior discount.

WM was picked for its services out of three companies that responded to Destin’s request for proposals. Emerald Coast Disposal ranked second and Waste Pro ranked third. Scoring criteria included qualifications, experience, cost and operations.