Town Closes in on RFP for New Trash Hauling Contract

Report on the Meeting of the Town Services and Outreach Committee, September 18, 2026

The meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Councilors George Ryan (District 3, Chair), Amber Cano-Martin (District 2), Hala Lord (District 3), Pam Rooney (District 4) , Jennifer Taub (District 3)

Staff: Paul Bockelman (town manager), Mimi Kaplan (consultant), Guilford Mooring (superintendent of public works)

At their Sept. 18 meeting, the Town Services and Outreach Committee (TSO) continued discussing the 10 decision points that must be resolved to draft a request for proposals (RFP) for town-wide waste hauler service, contracted through a competitive bidding process.

The committee agreed that the new arrangement would include universal curbside compost pickup and a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) cost structure (i.e. those who produce less trash pay less), and that the town would own trash carts, which the committee agreed should be 45 gallons. Under the new arrangement, residents would be unable to use the transfer station for regular trash disposal, but it would remain available for bulky items.

The proposed new bylaw to cover trash collection and recycling, which the town first took up in 2022, is projected to cut the town’s waste stream by between 40 and 75%  and to cost most residents less than what they currently pay contractors for trash pickup. Consultant Mimi Kaplan, the principal land use and environmental planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, is advising the town and will help draft the RFP. Several contractors have expressed interest in bidding on the town’s new arrangement, and the RFP will allow the town to better understand what services contractors can provide and at what cost.

The Discussion
Much of the discussion focused on which items in the proposal should be specified and where contractors would have flexibility so the committee could weigh different options. Members agreed to allow for multiple service options to evaluate cost impacts before making final decisions.

These include:

recycling frequency: (weekly vs. bi-weekly) and recycling cart size (64 gallon vs. 95 gallon). 

recycling stream: single vs. dual stream

yard waste: The town will maintain the status quo of seasonal pickup but will ask vendors for pricing on expanded options (monthly, bi-monthly).

bulky waste: Residents will be able to use the transfer station for large items, and the RFP will ask for vendor pricing for on-demand bulky pickup

Chair George Ryan asked members to prioritize the features most important to them in the RFP, and he emphasized that cost reduction would be his priority when weighing options offered by the haulers. 

Ryan said he hoped to complete discussion on the remaining three decision points at the committee’s Oct. 1 meeting.  Still to be discussed: curbside composting details, outreach and communications, and staffing and complaint management.

The committee had extensive discussion about the future of the transfer station, with Guilford Mooring stating that one hauler who responded to a request for information said they wouldn’t participate in bidding unless the proposal closed the transfer station for individual trash disposal.