Centreville council approves three-year trash contract without curbside recycling; allows county-run drop-off site

The Centreville Town Council voted May 7 to award a three-year municipal curbside solid-waste collection contract without curbside recycling and to allow Maryland Environmental Service (MES) to set up a no-cost recycling drop-off at the town water tower behind the firehouse.

Staff presented results from two parallel procurements: six bids for curbside trash and three for curbside recycling. Staff recommended Big Time Trash LLC for the curbside trash contract as the lowest responsive bidder and recommended MBG Reuse Refuse as the preferred curbside recycling vendor. Council members expressed concern about the higher resident cost for curbside recycling and the current national market and contamination issues that have driven recycling costs up in recent years.

After extended discussion on trade-offs between convenience and cost, councilmembers approved a motion to award the municipal curbside solid-waste contract without curbside recycling to Big Time Trash for a three-year term; staff said contract pricing and the detailed cost breakdown appear in the meeting packet. Council then approved a separate motion authorizing MES to establish a free drop-off recycling site behind the firehouse on POW Street at no cost to the town. Officials said MES’s drop-off operations would be available to town and county residents and that the town would monitor and help maintain the site.

Council members cited two key considerations: (1) the projected increase in per-household recycling fees if curbside recycling were included (staff noted that typical quarterly recycling charges have risen from roughly $6 in prior years to $30–$35 in recent procurements) and (2) the town’s interest in ensuring recyclables are actually processed, not landfilled. County recycling staff had told council that some larger processors will reject contaminated loads and that an MES-operated drop-off has a stronger downstream guarantee of recycling for accepted loads.

Town staff said they will update the budget and present the adjusted figures at the next (second) reading. The current trash contract expires June 30, and staff emphasized there is time to finalize implementation logistics and communications to residents before the new contractor begins service.

Council members asked staff to publish clear instructions on the town website and through other channels about the new service, the location of the drop-off site, and options available to residents.

The council’s motion to award the trash contract and the motion to allow MES to set up the recycling drop-off each passed during the meeting.