At its Nov. 19 meeting, City Council awarded Blue Diamond Disposal the new contract for residential and commercial solid waste and recyclable collection.

Blue Diamond service, which will begin Jan. 1, will save the City as much as $500,000 over the next five years compared to the previous provider, Waste Management. The new contract will run for three years with the option to renew.

City officials had sent out requests for proposals after analyzing the current service and discussing alternatives that would be more efficient. Blue Diamond, Earthtech, and Waste Management submitted bids.

The collection routes will remain the same. Trash will be collected on the first scheduled day, and recyclables will be collected on the second (See Trash Schedule for collection days for your block.).

But the added benefit under the new contract is that when the summer schedule is in effect, both trash and recyclables will be collected on both days.

Mayor Bill Henfey said, “I want to thank all involved in this process, because we will have the best of both worlds: better service at a better price.”