Bringing garbage and recycling service in-house would cost the Town of Blackfalds more than $150,000 extra per year, according to a cost-benefit analysis presented to council last night.
The study compared estimates between in-house delivery versus the town's contract with the company, Can Pak Environmental, which runs until June 1.
Mayor Richard Poole wasn't surprised by the findings but said council wanted to explore the option.
“Whenever we’re looking at services within the community, we want to find ways that might be beneficial to the community, that might be less costly,” Poole said. “This was one that council was at least asking, whether it would be more cost-effective for our town to bring it in-house.”
Blackfalds pays about $457,000 to outsource solid waste collection, processing and transportation to the Red Deer landfill. To deliver those services itself, the town would need to take responsibility for employee salaries, equipment, fuel, as well as the capital cost of purchasing three trucks. The town would also need to find somewhere to store those trucks.
In-house solid waste service would cost an estimated $613,000 in the first year.
While the costs are higher, the trade off would be more control over service delivery.
“Any complaints are able to be dealt with directly. They can deal with the situation immediately and there’s more of a direct, one-on-one service,” Poole said.
Poole said partnering with another municipality to access its solid waste authority could be a viable option in the future.
“Possibly in the future, another community could be interested in sharing that service with us,” he said. “And then it would be less costly for us to bring it in-house if we were renting another (municipality’s) trucks or using a cooperative regional approach.”
Administration is currently reviewing three bids for the town’s solid waste contract. Council will consider its recommendation on May 8.
Fri, Apr 26, 4:54 PM
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