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Town negotiates new solid‑waste contract, plans hybrid FY26 budget and expanded barge shipments
Summary
The town is negotiating a new waste service agreement with incumbent bidder Waste Options, planning a hybrid FY26 budget that blends five months under the current contract and seven months under the new contract, and has begun barge shipments of tires and scrap metal as part of facility cleanup.
Solid Waste Manager Chris Lowe briefed the board on progress negotiating a new Waste Service Agreement (WSA) after a single bid response to the town’s RFP.
Lowe said the RFP (issued June 2024) drew one compliant response from the incumbent, Waste Options, and the town recommended award. Negotiations over an asset purchase and sale agreement, transition plan and the WSA are ongoing; the new contract is planned to take effect 12/01/2025. “We are making some very good progress to date,” Lowe said.
The FY26 budget presented to the board is a hybrid: five months of the year are budgeted under the current WSA and seven months under the proposed new contract. Lowe said the hybrid approach is necessary because operating costs and service definitions differ between the current and proposed agreements. He said the town will recommend new or adjusted fees for some waste streams and will implement charges for items that previously were not billed to improve revenue alignment.
Operational highlights Lowe provided: Waste Options completed the first barge shipment of tires to the mainland and has shipped approximately 60 tons of scrap metal by barge; the town has reduced textile contamination at collections from 17.47% to 1.97%; latex paint collections removed about 21,800 pounds through events; total facility throughput last year was about 68,500 tons, including roughly 32,000 tons of mixed excavation waste, 23,000 tons of municipal solid waste, 10,000 tons of C&D and 8,100 tons of yard waste. Lowe said Sanborn Head has been hired to evaluate landfill capacity, cell utilization and PFAS‑related stockpile characterization.
Why it matters: negotiating a single‑vendor WSA, organizing asset transfers and setting new fee structures will affect town costs, resident tipping charges and how difficult waste streams are handled on the island. The town intends to use barge transport where possible to reduce off‑island disposal costs and clear stockpiles.
What’s next: finish contract negotiations and the asset purchase, finalize a transition plan, complete engineering review of Cell 3B construction and work with the finance office to finalize FY26 fees and hybrid budget details.
