Trash haulers who are negotiating with St. Paul to divvy up waste collection responsibilities across the city have until March 21 to craft a proposal city officials can get behind.
After decades of having residents hire their own haulers, St. Paul is moving to an organized collection system. But whether trash companies will handle the pick up as a collaborative or if one company will be responsible for all collection remains to be seen.
A group of 15 haulers has been meeting with St. Paul staff for months and presented two proposals so far, neither of which met all the city's requirements, staff told City Council members Wednesday.
"We feel we've made good progress," Environmental Policy Director Anne Hunt said. However, "we want to see one more proposal."
The cost proposed by the haulers is still too high, and several sticking points remain around labor issues, billing and contracting, St. Paul Environmental Coordinator Kris Hageman said.
Jim Berquist, president of local hauler Ken Berquist & Son, said meetings with the city and haulers have been productive. But he said the city wants very low prices and doesn't fully understand the hauling business.
"We are hoping we can negotiate a contract that can work as well for them as for us," Berquist said.
If St. Paul officials accept the haulers' next plan, a city timeline shows the new system could be in place by summer 2018.
