AVALON – Across the county, municipalities that depend on external trash haulers have faced various levels of crisis due to the impact of higher fuel and labor costs on the vendors.
In Avalon, borough officials were able to maintain the twice-a-week summer pickup service by reaching a new agreement with their trash hauler, Gold Medal Environmental. Part of that agreement led the borough to temporarily end its practice of side yard return of empty trash containers.
Within a very short period, the borough has produced new bid specifications that officials say reflect the new realities of a 40-year high inflation rate. The goal of the new bid process is to encourage more competition in the borough’s request for services.
Avalon procurement official Joseph Clark told Borough Council that the new process will involve requests for bids in three separate areas, allowing for the possibility of multiple vendors. The borough will award contracts for solid waste pickup, recycling collection, and municipal bulk waste removal.
The bid process will contain options that will allow the borough to assess the cost of specific services. One option in the solid waste pickup will be side yard return. The borough is hopeful that service can again be offered to residents if the competition results in a reasonable bid. An option for the recycling contract will be the collection of yard waste.
The schedule for all three of the proposed contracts has the goal of an award in late August, with a January 2023 start date for services.
