Director of Public Works Ryan Gillingham said service provider Waste Connections has experienced staffing challenges due to a lack of qualified drivers in the marketplace.
City staff are working to address issues with the service but expect potential service improvements later this year when the city transitions to its new trash and recycling collection provider, Frontier Waste Solutions. Balcones Recycling will also begin service as the city’s recycling processing provider.
“Our hope is that we will see an increased performance,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said in an email.
The current situation
Frontier Waste Solutions will officially take over as the city’s trash and recycling collection provider on Oct. 1.
The company, founded in 2017, has purchased 45 new trucks and expects to hire over 65 people to support trash and recycling collection services in the city. While operating out of a temporary facility on University Drive, the region’s Service Manager Grant Gregg said the company plans to construct a permanent facility on Airport Drive to serve McKinney.
The city’s new recycling processing provider, Balcones Recycling, will partner with Waste Connections for processing of recyclable materials until its permanent facility is constructed, said Joaquin Mariel, chief commercial officer for Balcones Recycling. The $60 million, 120,000-square-foot facility will be located in Frisco and is expected to open in early 2026, he said.The setup
City staff completed a solid waste management strategy in 2021, preceding the end of the contract with Waste Connections on Sept. 30 and leading to the issuance of a request for proposals for a new provider in 2022, Gillingham said.
Of the five respondents to the request, the combined cost of Frontier Waste Solutions and Balcones Recycling’s proposals totaled about $15 million annually, over $2 million less than the next-lowest proposal for the same service types.
“The point of ... seeking proposals for this is to find out what the marketplace is providing ... so that we can provide the best value to the citizens,” Gillingham said.
McKinney Mayor George Fuller said council members considered the costs of each proposal but also weighed the qualifications and experience of each company before selecting new providers.
“We are always in pursuit of the greatest value,” the McKinney mayor said in an emailed statement.
What they’re saying
- “Trash collection and recycling is a basic service, and when it is not done right, it is a frustrating situation, and one that is seen in real time,” Fuller said.
- “This has been a four-year journey that has been very planful by the city,” Gillingham said.
About 130,000 trash and recycling carts have been picked up and replaced by new city-owned carts at residences across the city.
The old carts are owned by Waste Connections and had to be replaced before the transition.
“Getting the carts out there now helps ... so you’re not dealing with multiple transitions at the same time,” Gillingham said.
The new 95-gallon carts follow the national standards for color coding—gray for trash and blue for recycling. The new carts cost about $54 each, which totaled about $7 million, Gillingham said.
The carts are also equipped with barcodes and radio frequency identification chips, which is a quality control measure that allows city staff to see if trash collection service has been performed.
Jon Dell’Antonia, who serves as the president of the Stonebridge Ranch Community Association board of directors, said he has experienced delays in trash service in recent months.
One of his carts is picked on the designated trash day, he said, and the other is picked up the following day. He has also noticed similar delays in the surrounding area.
“As of Oct. 1, I’ll be watching to see if both of my bins get picked up on the same day like they used to,” Dell’Antonia said of the upcoming transition.
Representatives of Waste Connections did not reply to requests for comment.
Gillingham said while the transition is contributing to additional strain on Waste Connections, he does not expect Frontier Waste Solutions to experience the same staffing challenges. Gregg said the company’s new trucks and equipment are attractive to qualified drivers.
Frontier Waste Solutions has begun to take over some collection routes, Gregg said, providing support to the city prior to the contractual start date.
“Our allegiance is to the city, so if the city calls and says, ‘Hey, we need you,’ we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we get the city taken care of,” Gregg said.
Potential changes to collection schedules and routes could also be announced later this year. Gregg said he expects some realignment of unbalanced routes.
