Council approves refuse/recycling contract despite concerns about reduced recycling capacity

The Cumberland Town Council approved Resolution 26-11 on March 18, authorizing the mayor to enter an agreement with Mega Disposal LLC (MIGA) for refuse and recycling collection services, after a lengthy public discussion about changes to recycling schedules, cart sizes and contamination risks.

Dave Orkama, MIGA district manager, told the council the vendor has not observed a “notable increase in contamination” in other communities that use an every-other-week recycling schedule and explained the company’s plan to increase recycling-cart capacity from the town’s current 65-gallon carts to 95-gallon carts. "The capacity of the recycling can is going to significantly increase," Orkama said, adding that residents are accustomed to separating recycling and trash and that the larger cart should reduce overflow pressure.

Councilors repeatedly asked for more targeted data and neighborhood-level reporting to identify recurring contamination sources. Councilor Bolio asked whether contamination had caused past financial encumbrances; the council heard that contaminated loads have been a cost driver in prior years. One councilor referenced a prior year's $240,000 overage tied to refuse/recycling costs overall, prompting questions about whether the new contract mitigates that exposure.

The administration said the contract includes revisit language and the solicitor asked for an opportunity to review an addendum so the council could preserve the ability to renegotiate frequency or capacity if performance or contamination trends warrant. The council approved the resolution on a roll call recorded as 6–1 (Councilor Bradley voted no).