Burleson council hears strong resident pushback on proposed trash-cart options as staff lays out contract scenarios

Richard Abernathy, Burleson’s administrative services director, presented an extensive review of options for the city’s solid-waste and recycling service on Feb. 3, describing proposals that would either preserve the current open commercial market (bag-based collection) or move to cart-based systems under a closed commercial franchise. Abernathy said the city hired a consultant in July 2024, negotiated with Waste Connections, and asked vendors to show alternatives that could offset any future street-maintenance or stormwater fee.

Why it matters: Solid waste service touches every household and business in the city; the council is considering tradeoffs among price, service level, curb impacts (carts vs. bags), and long-term contractual constraints that could limit competition. Abernathy told the council the current Waste Connections contract runs through Sept. 30, 2029, and that the vendor’s current vendor charge is $20.49 per month; after city fees and sales tax, residents currently pay about $26.23 per month. He also presented a household hazardous-waste curbside option priced at $1 per household per month.

What staff proposed and the numbers: Abernathy outlined three broad pathways: (1) keep the current open-market, twice-weekly bag collection with weekly recycling carts; (2) migrate the open market to cart-based service (95-gallon trash carts, 65-gallon recycling); or (3) close the commercial market and award a commercial franchise while offering different residential cart schedules. He said Waste Connections confirmed one closed-market scenario that produced a modest decrease (reported in the presentation as about $0.40 in one once-a-week cart scenario, with a line in the staff slides showing an illustrative figure of $13.12 in that comparison). Staff also described a negotiated 5% cap on annual rate increases as part of the contract options and proposed penalties for nonperformance.

Public and industry reaction: Dozens of residents and industry representatives told council they prefer to maintain the current service. Steve Keller, representing Waste Management, urged investment in recycling infrastructure and education, saying a new local recycling facility near the Burleson/Fort Worth border will add capacity and programming. Abel Moreno, district manager for Waste Connections, emphasized the company’s high service ratings and staff performance in Burleson. Resident speakers including Philip Sanders and Mark Tosiano warned that forcing carts or a single-vendor commercial franchise could create parking, access, and affordability problems for seniors and some households.

Council response and next steps: Several council members noted high resident satisfaction with current service — staff cited a recent Burleson citizen survey showing about 90% approval for solid-waste services — and one councilmember explicitly recommended postponing major changes until the contract’s natural end in 2029 to give residents and businesses time to prepare. No formal motion to change the contract was taken at the meeting; staff said the next steps would be to seek council consensus before amending any contract, hold informational sessions with residential and commercial customers, and optionally return with a specific amendment for final approval.

What remains unresolved: Precise rate impacts across the entire five-year projection, the final structure of any closed commercial franchise, and how roll-off/contractor (dumpster) services would be affected remain to be clarified in writing and in any future RFP or contract amendment. Staff also flagged resident concerns about odor, cart storage/parking, wind knockdown and accessibility for seniors and disabled residents.

The council did not vote on a contract change at the Feb. 3 meeting; staff will return after additional outreach and, if appropriate, bring a formal amendment or RFP back for action.