St. Paul officials coordinate contract with 15 haulers

The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, and fifteen waste haulers have coordinated a collection contract, a report by the Star Tribune says. Currently, residents much individually hire haulers, which caused an increase of noise, air pollution, wear and tear on alleys and illegal dumping of bulk items, such as mattresses and electronics.

According to the report, the agreement comes after more than 10 months of meetings and seven proposals from the haulers. Haulers will be assigned a certain zone of the city based on their market share, which means many residents will have a new hauling service.

According to St. Paul Public Works representative Kris Hageman, costs for residents will be the same or near current rates with the new contract and will receive an annual pickup of three large items, including appliances. Previously, residents needed to pay separately for bulky collection. A previous study revealed the average cost of collection is $27.49 per month for a medium sized cart and $9.25 for large items, the report says.

St. Paul city council will consider the agreement and a formal contract negotiations will take place in August. The new collection system is scheduled to begin in fall 2018 and will affect 78,200 households and include single-family homes and residential buildings that contain four or fewer units. Apartments and condominiums will be not affected by the new contracts, the report says.