Montrose awards three-year garbage and recycling contract to Waste Management

The Montrose City Council voted unanimously on April 13 to award the city’s three-year garbage, recycling and yard-waste contract to Waste Management following a presentation from the company’s operations team.

Waste Management representatives explained their subscription-style billing (seasonal yard-waste billed only for months of service but presented as a subscription), said they will coordinate service start/transition two weeks before the current contractor’s change-out, and described how they plan to keep service times comparable so residents can keep their collection routines. Dan Vanke, identified in the meeting as Waste Management’s senior district manager for central Minnesota, told council the company would work to model service times and provide direct contact information for city staff to escalate issues during the transition.

The vendor said the contract includes three 30-yard roll-off containers for the city cleanup at no charge and the company offered a park-event sponsorship and a scholarship for a local high-school senior going into environmental sciences. “We want to put our money where our mouth is, and we do want to commit to the community as well,” the Waste Management representative said.

Council members discussed past transition hiccups and the need for monthly check-ins during the handoff; Waste Management said it will work with city staff to mitigate service issues. Following discussion, the council approved the staff recommendation to contract with Waste Management for garbage and recycling services (motion passed 5–0).

Next steps: Waste Management will coordinate with city staff on timing for swapping carts and will provide contact information for account management during the transition.

Provenance: discussion and vote occurred at the April 13 meeting (presentation segments, vendor answers and motion to approve).