MADISON HEIGHTS — The Madison Heights City Council is looking at limited options for the town’s next trash contractor, and also whether to switch to a more cost-effective model where residents would be required to use special carts for curbside pickup.

In the last 15 years, the city’s waste hauler has changed several times. The city entered into a contract with Rizzo Services in 2010, and then Rizzo Services was bought out by GFL Environmental. GFL Environmental, in turn, had its contracts acquired by Priority Waste last July.

Now, the city’s contract with Priority Waste is set to expire June 30.

Sean Ballantine, director of the Madison Heights Department of Public Services, said that there were “initial challenges” following Priority Waste’s takeover of services from GFL Environmental.

But in the months since, the company has made “significant improvements” in service delivery, he said, including better fleet maintenance, more consistent pickup schedules and improved customer support.

To review its options, the city held a series of town hall meetings called “Trash Talk” where feedback was sought from the public. In addition, the city issued a request for bid proposals from all local service providers that were able to provide trash, recycling and compost services.

But when the bids arrived April 9, only one contractor put its hat in the ring: Priority Waste.

Neither Waste Management — the largest waste hauler in the country — nor Tringali Sanitation had the capacity to take on another community. Both submitted formal letters of “no bid.”

At press time, city staff were reviewing the offer from Priority Waste. The contract would be for five years, with an extension option for five more.

Since the sole bidder is also the current provider, Ballantine said that any transition period should be virtually nonexistent, assuming the council approves the new contract to begin July 1.

That’s not to say there won’t be any changes, however. Notably, the council is considering a possible change to a carts-only model.

Carts versus status quo

Mark Bliss, the mayor pro tem, said the city has at least two options before it: a version of the contract where all residents must use new high-capacity carts that will be provided to them by the city, or a version that continues the status quo and allows bags and cans of varying sizes at the curb.

The carts-only model would receive a discount of about $150,000 from Priority Waste a year, since the carts require less work for Priority Waste to pick up, Bliss said. In either case, large items such as furniture could still be placed at the curb.

The carts themselves include 96-gallon trash carts and 64-gallon recycling carts, each with wheels and secured lids. They will be provided to residents for free later this summer or fall, regardless of which contract is chosen.

The city has already spent about $500,000 in matching grants to pay for the carts, a decision the council made in 2023. The overall cost of the carts program is $1.03 million.

Bliss was the sole vote against purchasing the carts. At the time, he reasoned that the money would be better spent reducing the water rate and cutting taxes.

Bliss said he still feels that way today, but since the carts have been purchased, he sees a possible upside to the carts-only model. He said the savings could pay back the city’s contribution on the match grant in just three and a half years.

However, Bliss still has concerns.

“After speaking to several of my elderly neighbors, my concern is for the seniors,” Bliss said. “Some of them will struggle getting that giant cart around their car, especially since many homes here have driveways that only fit one car, and the car must be parked there on trash day. The new carts are much larger, and weigh about 30 pounds even without anything in them — a lot more than the 4-5 pounds of trash they might carry now.

“That’s why I think we should look into an alternate option,” he said. “For example, maybe the city can create exemptions for certain residents, where Priority Waste knows to pick up the trash at their address even if it’s not in a cart. Or maybe we can provide a smaller tier of carts that are easier for seniors to carry but that can still be picked up by the trucks. But we’ve not been given information about those options yet.”

Regardless of which model is chosen, City Councilmember Quinn Wright said he feels that Priority Waste is a good value.

“In spite of the fact we were only able to get a response from one provider, I’m glad that the options available to residents through Priority Waste are financially responsible,” Wright said.

City Councilmember David Soltis said the waste giant has improved over the past year.

“I’m hoping that if we renew our deal with them, that we can secure an even better deal for our residents and keep (Priority Waste) on task,” Soltis said.

Roslyn Grafstein, the mayor of Madison Heights, said the city is diligently reviewing the details.

“As we search for a new hauler, we are prioritizing reliability, cost effectiveness and customer service,” she said via email. “We know how important consistent, high-quality trash and recycling pickup is to our residents’ quality of life, so we are being very deliberate in evaluating all options.”