Waste Management Receives Chelmsford Recycling Contract
IPR is out and WM is in; there will be no changes in recycling procedures for residents.
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The Town of Chelmsford will put its recycling duties into the hands of Waste Management beginning on July 1.
No recycling procedures will change for residents.
The Board of Selectmen voted last night to discontinue service with recycling contractor IPR prior to the March 1 contract extension/termination deadline.
Town of Chelmsford Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator Nick Parlee received two unsolicited bids from Waste Management, each coming in at a significantly cheaper rate than Allied Waste, who also put in a bid.
Allied Waste currently resides over Chelmsford’s solid waste pickup. That could all change come 2015 when their contract runs out at the same time as the new contract with Waste Management.
“I think they’re looking to make a good impression on the town and bundle trash pickup and trash disposal,” Parlee said of Waste Management.
“It’ll really put is in a great place; we’ll have the two big providers in the community jockeying for us,” added Town Manager Paul Cohen.
“The idea is that you have your solid waste pick up, your solid waste disposal and your recycling all up in 2015,” Parlee clarified to the board. “Then you can bundle it and get the best price,” he said.
Cohen told the board that he was disapointed with the recycling service from IPR. “We’re dissatisfied with the service,” he said.
Parlee echoed the sentiment and stated many reasons for Chelmsford to part ways with IPR.
“I haven’t been happy with the service from IPR,” he admitted.
A recent glass leak in South Chelmsford prompted Parlee to contact IPR. The response from the contractor was to take care of the problem and have the company billed.
“I’ve been chasing them for the $330 bill,” Parlee divulged. “That kind of roughed me the wrong way,” he added.
Parlee continued with his IPR grievances. “After Martin Luther King Day a whole street was missed, Bay Street, a small street, four houses,” he said. “They were left out for five-ish days,” he added.
Parlee also brought up the simple issue of the Senior Center. “The Senior Center has been a spot of routine misses,” he informed the board.
“It’s picking up one dumpster once a week, it’s not like we’re asking them to go above and beyond right there,” Parlee said.
“There’s been all sorts of little problems, nothing that warrants any liquidated damages in the contract,” Parlee clarified.
Waste Management will use a new facility to recycle what it collects from Chelmsford residents.
“Waste Management is opening up this summer a brand new, state of the art facility tin Billerica and they’re desperate for material; they don’t have enough material coming in,” he informed the board.
Even neighboring towns are singing the praises of Waste Management.
“They’re giving us a reasonable offer for pretty high end service; I have nine reviews from surrounding towns,” Parlee said.
IPR will continue to serve Chelmsford until July 1.
Audit75
7:44 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Waste Management scandal was the starting point for the downfall of Arthur Andersen. This audit was prior to Enron and the part of the demise of this audit firm. Waste Management has a bad rap sheet in other parts of the country.
Christine McNamara
8:36 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Can Chelmsford offer weekly recycling collection? Has anyone done a cost/benefit analysis? Also, can we place more recycling containers throughout the town? I would think that more frequent pick up would encourage more recycling, especially for those with limited storage space.
Tyler Jozefowicz
10:14 am on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I noticed that IPR provides one driver ( not 2 to a truck) , no help, to pick up all the town's trash. Driver stops , get out of the truck, driver empties the trash, gets back in , goes 30 feet and does it again. How much an hour do the workers get for doing this tedious, monotonous , hard labor job? If we are not permitted to know , we should request and ask.
The school custodians were outsourced to a private maintenance company. No then current janitor wanted to transfer. The reason discovered later. They were paying minimum wage, expensive health benefits; had trouble keeping and maintaining help.
I really do not want to live in a town that disrespects , treats workers trying to earn a living and support a family with these wages that way. This should be a bidding criteria. No wonder they low bid and everyone turns their back.
Donna Reed
6:17 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
There has been more than one time houses on my street were missed. Last fall, 8 houses ( out of 36) in a row, mine being one of them, was missed. I called them on the phone, only to be told that they had already left town, and IF they could, they would come back at the end of their day to pick up our recycling. IF they couldn't get back at the end of the day, we would have to wait till the next pick-up...which we all know would have been two weeks later. I called Jennifer Almeida, and they were back in an hour. The men operating the trucks are nice enough, but they leave plastic bottles, newspapers and tin cans all over the street. If the trash misses the bucket, "too bad, so sad"..it stays where it lands. Tyler, not sure about Recycling drivers, but my understanding..( from one of the drivers himself) is that Sanitation workers are actually paid quite well. It's not a job that all of us would want, or could do..but they are making WELL above minimum wage...and BTW..does anyone know what happened to Jennifer Almeida? Is she no longer managing the Trash and Recycling in town?