Guyton will have a new garbage collection service beginning April 1.
City council members approved a contract with Waste Management, ending the city’s relationship with Republic, in a special called meeting Thursday morning.
The new pact will mean residences will spend $9.74 a month for collection service. The contract is for three years.
“We’ve heard a lot of good things about Waste Management from some other cities that have used them,” said Alderman Les Pevey, who has headed the city’s efforts in contract negotiations. “With Republic, we were afraid of getting the same service we’d been getting.”
Complaints about Republic’s service included missed pickups and trucks leaking hydraulic fluid on the streets.
Under the new contract, Waste Management also will be picking up trash once a week. Pevey said he didn’t know if Waste Management would continue to collect garbage on Tuesdays as Republic had.
“We’re looking forward to a prosperous relationship with them,” he said. “Hopefully, it will be better service than what we had been getting.”
Pevey said though Waste Management’s price was higher than the current contract, it was lower than the new offer Republic made.
In December, city council members voted not to automatically renew their contract with Republic. Without the automatic renewal, Republic’s contract expires March 1. Republic will continue to provide garbage collection until Waste Management takes over.
Waste Management also will have a twice-a-year pickup of white goods — stoves, refrigerators, etc. — with a roll-off container at the police department.
The council also is expected to approve a resolution for a loan agreement with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority at a called meeting Tuesday. The $13.3 million loan will go toward land purchase and construction of the city’s own wastewater treatment facility.
Guyton has been using Springfield’s wastewater treatment facility and hopes to have its own sewage plant in two years. It will have a capacity of 500,000 gallons. Guyton City Council has approved a $2.2 million purchase of 650 acres for the plant and a sprayfield.
“We’re real excited about the wastewater treatment plan,” Pevey said.
