by Geoff Fox
Town officials will take a second stab at getting bids from companies willing to haul trash and recycling from residents inside Hancock town limits.
Hancock officials had put out a bid request for trash collection services in town limits and only received one bid – from Apple Valley Waste, which currently collects trash in Hancock.
The bid packet was unsealed during the January town meeting.
Inside the packet were two yearly prices: $196,000 for automated collection and $227,000 for manual.
The trash service alone is $98,000 a year. Recycling adds another $98,000, bringing the total to $196,000.
This would add another $30 a quarter to residents’ trash bills if they want recycling, Council Roland Lanehart, Jr. said during a January 10 meeting.
Apple Valley would cover the cost of any cans and that cost would be included in the bid price. The cans would be 96-gallon types, which hold four or five normal garbage bags.
Town Manager Mike Faith, using his family as an example, said there are families who produce more garbage than others.
Brian Andre of Apple Valley Waste said the cost for an extra can would be a side discussion, but it could be a one-time cost of $5 to $10 for the can.
When it comes to recycling, Apple Valley promotes it but there isn’t much of a business outside sorting the recyclables, Andre said.
Apple Valley would still continue to provide that service.
Councilman David Kerns said he doesn’t want to get rid of recycling in Hancock as the town went through a lot to get it. However, he said, there would have to be “training” in order to do it correctly in order to get the best bang for the buck.
“I just hate to see it all go straight back to the landfill,” he said.
Former mayor Ralph Salvagno, who was in the audience, gave the suggestion of having a centralized recycling collection location.
There is a recyclable drop spot at the transfer station, but there is a $25 fee to use for a year.
“It would be up to the citizen if they want to recycle, they can take their stuff to the station to recycle. If not, it’s going in the trash,” Mayor Tim Smith said.
There is a possibility the town could go the route Salvagno suggested.
Councilman Josh McCusker said people who want to recycle would continue to do so because they feel it’s the right thing to do.
Town officials did not approve the bid and Faith said on Monday town officials would be putting the trash collection contract out to bid again “real soon.”
