Clarke County residents will see a noticeable drop in their monthly trash bills starting this fall after county commissioners approved a new three-year solid waste collection contract with Waste Management on Tuesday. The switch, which takes effect Nov. 1, replaces longtime provider Republic Services and is expected to save the average household well over $130 a year.
A Sizable Cut in Monthly Rates
Under the new agreement, once-weekly residential curbside pickup will cost $22.82 a month, down from the $34.10 households currently pay under Republic Services. That works out to a reduction of roughly $11.28 per month, or more than $135 annually, for a typical single-family home. Waste Management’s bid for commercial dumpster and handcart service also came in lower than competing offers and was approved as part of the same contract.
The Clarke County Commission solicited bids from several haulers before making its decision. Waste Pro submitted the highest residential proposal at $37.60 a month, while Republic Services, the outgoing provider, offered to continue service at $32.84 a month if it retained the contract. Waste Management’s bid undercut both.
Commission Chairman Says Lower Bills Were the Goal
Clarke County Commission Chairman Jackie Ray Rush said he pushed to reopen bidding on the county’s solid waste contract several months ago because he believed residents were paying more than they should for basic trash service. “This is a really big deal to me,” Rush said following Tuesday’s vote. “I was bound and determined to get these rates lowered, and we did.”
Rush’s effort reflects a broader concern shared by many rural Alabama counties, where residential garbage collection is often one of the most visible line items on a household’s monthly budget. Trash and recycling costs across the country have climbed in recent years due to rising fuel, labor and landfill tipping fees, making competitive rebidding an increasingly common tool local governments use to keep costs in check for constituents.
Bulky Item Pickup Left Out of the Deal
Not every part of Waste Management’s proposal made the final contract. The commission turned down an additional $8.68 monthly charge the company had proposed for bulky waste pickup, such as furniture or large appliances left at the curb. Solid waste director Jim Hudson told commissioners that while Republic Services currently offers bulky item pickup at no extra cost, few residents actually use the service because of the restrictions attached to it, and county officials apparently did not see enough value in the add-on to justify passing the extra fee on to ratepayers.
Who the New Contract Covers
The new agreement applies to unincorporated areas of Clarke County served directly by the county’s solid waste program. It does not affect Grove Hill, Jackson or Thomasville, each of which negotiates its own separate trash collection contracts. Thomasville already uses Waste Management for its municipal service, so residents there should notice little change when the countywide contract begins.
Residents in areas covered by the new county contract can expect to receive updated billing information from the county ahead of the Nov. 1 transition. Waste Management is one of the largest waste collection and environmental services companies in the country, with an established presence across south Alabama, including its existing work in Thomasville.
Other Business Before the Commission
Commissioners took up a range of additional items during Tuesday’s meeting. They approved a $74,342.50 pay application to Arrington Curb & Excavating for continued work on the Zimco Road project and authorized filling two appraiser trainee positions in the county’s mapping and appraisal department. The commission also contracted with Emergent 3 to provide security upgrades for county employees and offices, at an initial cost of $6,000 that includes a $2,000 setup fee plus a $4,000 annual fee, and approved annual maintenance contracts covering the county’s five generators.
In personnel and civic appointments, commissioners named Thomasville City Councilmember Reid Smith to the Clarke County Parks and Recreation Board. They also approved an $8,272 quote for an upgraded security control system on the sallyport door at the county courthouse, a step aimed at tightening access to the secure vehicle entrance used to transport inmates.
Voting Change in Fulton and Solar Tax Exemptions
Commissioners voted to relocate the Precinct 18 voting location in Fulton from the old fire station to the new fire station, a change that will take effect for the Nov. 3 general election. Officials cited the lack of restroom facilities at the old site as the reason for the move.
The commission also extended sales and use tax exemptions for two solar energy projects, AL Solar G LLC and AL Solar H LLC, located in the Alma/Gainestown area, pushing the deadline to Sept. 30, when the facilities are expected to be fully operational. Alabama has already granted the maximum number of exemptions allowed for the projects and cannot issue additional ones. Chairman Rush said the commission felt it had been misled about certain aspects of the solar development, including expectations around permanent local employment tied to the projects.
Separately, commissioners passed a resolution, at the request of economic developer Jessica Ross, to apply for a continuance of Opportunity Zone status covering part of Jackson. Opportunity Zones offer tax incentives designed to spur investment in qualifying census tracts, and the Jackson zone is currently the only one of its kind in Clarke County.