Portage single-hauler trash system through two weeks, initiative on May ballot

PORTAGE, Mich. — The City of Portage and Waste Management (WM) have been under contractual agreement to be the city’s only trash hauler for a little over two weeks.

Waste Management and the city have pointed to successes from the agreement, including fewer trash vehicles on the roads, quieter vehicles, and most important of all: saving residents money.

The city says residents are saving 44% more compared to what they were previously paying.

“We’re just super excited to be in the City of Portage and providing that excellent service, and at the end of the day, we are just here to build a great relationship with the residents and the community,” Dave Wainscott, of Waste Management, said.

The single-hauler agreement cut out a smaller Kalamazoo-based trash service, Best Way Disposal.

Chris Phillips, manager at Best Way and a member of the Take Back the Trash petition committee, told News Channel 3 the city did not offer Portage residents much of a choice.

“Single-hauler is done elsewhere, but we are a proponent of open markets and we always push for open markets,” Phillips said.

There is an initiative on the May 5 ballot that allows Portage residents to choose whether they want to keep Waste Management as their single-hauler or have the opportunity to choose their own.

“By having a one hauler that the city has contracted with, that gives us a little more teeth in what the communication is between that hauler, what they’re doing,” Portage’s Director of Public Works Jereme Rowland said. “If there are issues, we have a direct contact with them that we can try to address any issues. Before, it was everybody for themselves.”

“People get to pick their provider,” Phillips said. “It keeps competition on the market, keeps service levels high. Competition creates new services, brings new items forward. When you’re in a contract where there’s just the services that are in black and white, that’s all you got.”