Details on AmWaste sanitation bid discussed at work session

Residents of Vestavia Hills may not have to separate their recyclables this fall if the City Council approves a bid from AmWaste.

At a June 15 work session, AmWaste presented their services to the city, with details about their bid discussed. The business is the presumed low bidder for the new contract that takes effect on October 1, and offered multiple options for the city, but the one offering the most savings would cost $2.7 million annually to the city and would see trash collected once a week from each household, but instead of residents separating their recyclable material into separate containers, AmWaste would send trash to RePower South in Montgomery, which handles recycling and converts about 70% of municipal waste into either a sold commodity, such as cardboard, or converted to Feedstock “ReEF” fuel, which replaces coal in industrial and utility boilers.

Choosing that alternative over others that offer more frequent trash pickups, which would come at a higher cost. While trash pickup would happen just once a week, the savings to the city is about $773,000, which communications director Cinnamon McCulley said would allow the city to hire six police officers and three firefighters to serve the Cahaba Heights and Liberty Park areas.

A representative from AmWaste said drivers would be responsible for litter, a regular complaint from residents under the current contract with Republic. While problems will inevitably come up, the representative said the company works hard to resolve those issues. To assist in those efforts, trucks have GPS systems and cameras.

Households may have up to three cans, and back-door pickups and debris pickup services will remain the same. AmWaste offered the option for the city to pilot their program for 12 months and then make changes.

The business also offers residents a chance to have their trash picked up if they miss a day, but it will be limited to a few times a year.

Public meetings will be held via Zoom in which residents will be able to ask questions on July 1 at noon and July 8 at 5:30 p.m. To access the meeting, visit vhal.org/calendar.

A Vestavia Hills Listens topic will also be added and can be found here.