Hampshire officials prepping residents for garbage hauler switch

Hampshire officials are hoping residents are prepared for a curbside shift starting this month.

After decades of renewing waste hauling contracts with Waste Management, Hampshire recently entered a five-year agreement with Flood Brothers to provide the same services at a cheaper rate.

Hampshire Village Manager Jay Hedges said officials weighed numerous bids and Flood Brothers came in with the most competitive for the village's 2,600 households. Residents will pay $20.79 a month compared with the most recent rate of $22.71 with Waste Management.

Waste Management offered a renewal rate of $28.23 a month per household for the first year, according to Hedges, a rate that would have increased to $32.38 in the fifth year. After five years, incremental increases will raise the Flood Brothers rate to $22.67 a month.

Hedges said the savings will amount to about $330,000 over the course of the five-year contract.

"It's a substantial contract but we tried to keep it somewhat simple, which helped us keep the rates down," Hedges said. "When we got down to pricing, it was hard to ignore that three hundred thousand dollars."

Flood Brothers began this week hauling Hampshire's garbage and recycling. Although pickup times may vary because of different truck routes, the company worked with village officials to make sure the Thursday pickup day remained the same.

The village sent notices to residents informing them about the change. Residents received a 95-gallon refuse bin and a 65-gallon recycling bin from Flood Brothers the week of June 20, which is when Waste Management started retrieving its bins.

"For the most part it's been a fairly smooth transition," Hedges said. "It's always a challenge to communicate but I think our PR committee worked real hard at getting the word out. I think we're ready."