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Updated: Leander City Council approves new waste collection deal
Updated 8:36 a.m. CST April 18, 2014
On April 17 Leander City Council gave final approval to a new five-year franchise starting in 2016 between the city and Al Clawson Disposal Inc.
City Council also approved amending the contract with ACD to reflect new totals for garbage and recycling collection. In May both rates will increase about 36 percent on city customers' monthly bills.
Original story
Leander residents could receive six more years of waste service from Al Clawson Disposal Inc. after City Council approved the first reading for a franchise extension on April 3.
The franchise allows a waste-collection business to operate within Leander city limits. A contract must also be approved with a specific company.
ACD provides waste removal services to about 10,000 Leader homes. Rates for commercial waste-removal will remain essentially the same, Leander Finance Director Robert Powers said. The pricing of rollout dumpsters keeps delivery and haul charges at a fixed rate, he said, with landfill disposal fees passed directly to customers.
Powers said the new franchise extension would start at the end of 2016—when ACD's current franchise is set to expire—and end in 2021.
A second reading is scheduled for April 17. City Council will then consider a new contract with ACD to match the new franchise.
The vote comes after City Council approved ACD's proposed monthly rate increase on March 20.
Beginning in May, residents will pay $12.25—$16.66 per month for waste collection services. City Council also agreed to 95-gallon recycling carts instead of 18-gallon bins.
On April 3, Rick Frauman with Texas Disposal Systems asked City Council instead to issue a request for new waste-removal service proposals, which he said the city hasn't done since 2005.
"Many things have changed since your last [request for proposals] and there are many significant changes coming in the near future," Frauman said. "Such planning and competitive process is in the best interest of the city and its residents."
Frauman said one landfill used in the Travis County area will close next year.
Clawson said her company does not use that landfill. By offering recycling service and researching more recycling options, the company aims to avoid using landfills, she said.
"[The] Williamson County landfill is unaffected and has more of a lifespan than probably any of us here," she said.
