Fort Wayne Outlines Trash Transition
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City officials have introduced a transition agreement with its current trash collection company to the Fort Wayne City Council. Our partners at WPTA-TV report the agreement ensures Texas-based Red River Waste Solutions continues to collect trash until a new company begins operations in the city later this year.
Red River has been criticized for numerous missed collections and last fall filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company cited pandemic-related financial and labor issues as reasons for not being able to keep up with collections.
Last month, the city detailed plans to pay Red River nearly $2 million to continue collections through the end of June, a plan that was developed through the bankruptcy court. The plan allowed the city to search for a new contractor.
Earlier this month, the city said it had received bids from three solid waste services companies: Waste Management of Indiana, GFL Environmental USA, and Republic Services of Indiana.
The city council will next week hold a special meeting in which the city will formally present the transition agreement, followed by a council vote. If approved, the agreement would still require approval from the bankruptcy court before the city could award a contract to the new provider.
According to WPTA, the council will have to approve the lowest responsive bidder. City spokesperson John Perlich says GFL environmental was the lowest bidder, and he hopes a deal can be reached by mid-April with the new company beginning operations on July 1.
“We are still going through the process, no final decisions have been made but what we’ve seen from GFL has been very encouraging to us,” Perlich said.
As far as the $2 million payment to Red River goes, the city will only be on the hook for $300,000. The remainder will be paid by the provider of Red River’s performance bond.