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Council approves intermunicipal waste contract with Hempstead; recycling costs draw opposition
Summary
The council authorized an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Hempstead for municipal solid-waste transport and disposal, citing modest net savings (~$70,000/year), while one councilor voted against the deal over concerns that commingled recycling costs were high ($135/ton) and urged seeking state exceptions.
The Long Beach City Council on Dec. 3 approved an intermunicipal agreement (IMA) with the Town of Hempstead for transport and disposal of municipal solid waste, a move staff said will save the city roughly $70,000 a year (approximately 3% of the $2 million contract value).
Staff explained the agreement routes most municipal solid waste to a Freeport transfer station and would send commingled recycling to the Oceanside facility. The contract includes per-ton rates; staff said MSW is expected to be approximately $94/ton under the new agreement and that some higher-cost streams (commingled recycling) might be renegotiated by the contractor in June.
Council member Lester objected and voted No, saying he could not commit to the agreement while the commingled recycling rate was $135/ton and urged staff to seek a New York State exception to reduce recycling costs. Staff acknowledged the recycling pricing was unfavorable but emphasized that overall the contract produced net savings even with current commingled rates and that the contractor expected to negotiate lower rates to pass along savings in mid-year.
The resolution passed by roll call with the dissent noted; staff said they will pursue the best pricing options and consider whether alternate disposal routing would yield further savings.
