Tired of yard waste sitting on the curb? Columbus Council approves new contract to help
Update, May 26: Columbus Council approved a $1.77 million supplemental yard waste contract during its Tuesday meeting.
Amwaste, a West Point-based waste and recycling collection company, will provide five trucks and their three-man crews to handle five of Columbus’ 14 yard waste routes. Their crews will work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cut the supply of available inmates to pick up the city’s waste. The contract begins June 21 and will last one year. The contract could be renewed for an additional four years, according to city documents.
Original story: Columbus Council is set to vote on a $1.77 million contract to assist the city with yard waste for one year as inmate shortages continue to cause delays.
The funds would cover the use of five trucks and their three-man crews. The services would be provided by Amwaste, a West Point-based waste and recycling collection company with operations in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. The measure will be brought before the council during its May 25 meeting and it wouldn’t increase garbage fees for residents, Public Service Director Michael Criddle told the Ledger-Enquirer Tuesday.
“There’s just not enough resources to keep up,” he said. “We’re dealing with a huge inmate shortage. This is (directly) related to COVID. ...We’re a couple of hundred inmates short. We normally get 353 inmates. But we’re getting about 138 or 140.
“This is absolutely critical. If we don’t get this, then we’ll be behind now until October,” he added.
Council first discussed the measure and voted to approve it during their May 11 meeting. City Manager Isaiah Hugley told councilors the measure would be brought back formally at the May 25 meeting.
Hugley told the Ledger-Enquirer Tuesday that the contract would be funded through the city’s integrated waste fund reserves. The city may be able to replace those reserves with funds from the American Rescue Plan. Columbus is to receive roughly $78.4 million from ARP over two allocations, Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge said during last week’s meeting.
District 8 representative Walker Garrett is one of the councilors who supports the private contract.
“We’ve got to,” he said. “My own yard waste was out for a month. Public works is doing everything in their power.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to more accurately report how the contract will be funded.
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 1:46 PM.