Editor’s note: As Barrie and Orillia are separated cities, they are each responsible for their own waste collection.
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Come November 2021, waste collection across Simcoe County will look much different.
Miller Waste Systems was chosen as the county's new contractor for waste collection, starting in November of next year. The contract will include an automated cart collection system.
However, the discussion occurred behind closed doors back in April, leading to some confusion around the council table on Tuesday when it came time to receive the final report revealing the name of the contractor chosen.
“Are we receiving the information or are we deciding on whether or not to let the contract?” asked Ramara Township Mayor Basil Clarke.
General manager of engineering, planning and environment Debbie Korolnek said county staff were given approval by council at the April 14 meeting to enter into the contract with the chosen proponent.
“So, this is presented for information,” she said.
According to Rob McCullough, the county's director of solid waste management, the matter was dealt with in closed session at the April 14 meeting as there was information presented to councillors that was “proprietary.” Specifically in this case, the pricing that was being put forward was considered to be private information.
“Pricing is a very significant portion of what was to be discussed, and we can’t reveal that (to the public) for the bidder’s sake,” said McCullough.
County clerk John Daly expanded on the reasoning behind the decision being made without any public input.
When councillors were presented with the bids at the April 14 meeting, Daly confirmed even councillors were kept in the dark about who each proponent was. To keep them anonymous, councillors were presented with the bids under names such as Proponent 1 or 2.
Councillors were informed who they had voted for at their meeting on Tuesday now that negotiations are complete.
When asked asked how the information could be considered proprietary if the bidders were kept anonymous, Daly explained this is a normal part of the procurement process, where decisions are made using a scoring sheet to prevent councillors from making decisions based on company names.
“For example, if I were to give you the (closed session) report now, and you were to know that Proponent 1 was Miller Waste, you would then have all the proprietary information on that company,” he said. “And then, by process of elimination, you could figure out the other vendors.
“In this scenario, we were really looking at negotiations and what would council want a successful negotiation to look like. It not only protects the corporation (the County of Simcoe), it also protects the businesses from their competitors,” he said.
The results of the negotiation with Miller Waste were outlined in the report council received for information on Tuesday.
Miller Waste has agreed to a $200,000 annual reduction in contract costs for award of both the east and west Simcoe contract areas – instead as a single contract for the entire county – resulting in a net savings of more than $1.4 million over the contract term. Final costing figures will be released as part of the 2021 solid waste management budget.
According to a news release sent out by the county, they will distribute three new wheeled carts to each household before the change takes effect, which will include one cart each for biweekly recycling, garbage, and weekly organics (green bin). Changes to routes and collection days will also occur to maximize efficiency.
The current frequency of collection, with garbage and recycling being collected on alternating weeks and green bins weekly, will continue under the new contract.
The automated cart system utilizes a mechanical arm, on each collection vehicle, that picks up, empties and places the carts back on the curb with the driver rarely needing to leave the cab. The carts include wheels to make it easier for residents to transport to their curb.
Key benefits of the automated cart system include significantly reduced chance of injuries to drivers, expansion of the labour force by removing the significant manual labour aspect from the job, reduced litter from windblown materials through the use of large lidded carts for recycling and increased storage capacity for recyclables and organic green bin materials, as the county works to increase diversion and reduce garbage.
