Budget Box: Talking Trash!

Trash collection is a necessary part of our lives and something that we may not even think about except when it’s time to pay the bill. There are four residential waste collection providers currently servicing the Landings community -- Curbie Sanitation, Savannah Waste, Atlantic Waste, and Waste Management.

The Landings Association has begun exploring whether a single vendor for waste collection may make the most sense for the community. We have benchmarked with similar gated communities, met with local waste companies, and conducted research to determine the feasibility and potential cost savings for our residents. Thus far, we have identified the following potential advantages and disadvantages of a single vendor waste collection operation for our community.

Advantages

• Could potentially reduce the amount residents pay for their waste collection bill
• Could reduce the number of waste providers traveling the roads, which would in turn reduce damages that heavy vehicular traffic cause to the streets and curbs
• Could improve the safety on the roads with fewer trucks coming into the community

Disadvantages

• Some residents may prefer their current waste collection provider and may not like the provider selected for single-source collection
• Additional TLA staff time to manage the waste collection contract, including communications with residents
• Some of the condo associations within our community may already include this service in their owners’ assessment

To have a better understanding of any real cost savings and benefits of a single-source residential waste provider, staff are drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain pricing for this service. The RFP will include restrictions on truck size and weight to help protect our infrastructure. Once we receive the real costs through this process, we will share that information with the community.

Please stay tuned for more information as we explore the feasibility of this initiative.