Detroit suburb signs $37M contract with Priority Waste

City council members in Livonia, Michigan, have approved a new five-year contract with Michigan-based Priority Waste, which began providing service for the city and more than 70 other municipalities earlier this year, reports Hometown Life.

With the new agreement, Livonia residents will be asked this fall to choose either a 96-gallon or 64-gallon cart for both trash and recycling, provided at no cost. Residents who do not indicate a preference will receive the 96-gallon bins by default. The new carts can be used beginning Dec. 1.

“We are excited to provide these new carts to Livonia residents,” Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan says in a news release. “We know this is a big change. But we are happy to offer residents the choice of [cart size] they will use. We know this is the most economical way to provide trash and recycling service while keeping our streets cleaner and helping control rodents.”

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The contract, approved Sept. 23, costs $7.2 million annually. In addition to the contract costs, the city will pay approximately $4.14 million from the city’s refuse fund to purchase the trash and recycling carts for each household, Hometown Life reports.

“One of the goals is to use these carts to help keep the streets free of litter and help the truck drivers keep moving and collecting without having to leave their vehicle often,” says Chris Jackett, chief of public relations, noting the city will maintain ownership of the carts. “If people have more trash bags than can fit in their cart or just a single bag, those will still be collected. Bags at the curb are more prone to getting ripped open and must be collected by hand, whereas these carts will secure everything until it is collected by the trucks.”

According to the city, the new carts will feature wheels that make them easy to roll to the curb, with tight-fitting lids to control litter. The larger recycling containers also will allow residents to dispose of more recyclables. For faster and more autonomous collection, Priority Waste will employ one-person trucks.