We've been here before on the Patch. Rarely does a municipal (or county/regional/state/nantional) entity provide services more cost effectively or efficiently than private enterprises. The current providers, in a competitive setting, offer lower cost solution sets than does our nearest neighbor Minnepolis with its one size fits all dump it on your tax bill approach. When Allied Waste tried to jack up my bill I contacted other providers, found competitive alternatives that had a solution sized for my needs at a lower cost and shopped it back at Allied for the price point I was willing to accept. Try doing that with a single hauler imposed by the city.

I see no reason to change. I left one company because I got it cheaper at another. Who will really benefit from going to one carrier?

I agree with Brad and John. If the City goes to a single hauler it basically amounts to a government imposed monopoly. You may say, "The City can bid out the contract every few years to keep it competitive", but the truth is the large national haulers can undercut their pricing long enough to put the smaller local haulers out of business and eliminate the competition in the long run. Then you will see prices rise. The government has no reason (or right) to be in the trash hauling business. Knowing how efficient government is, I'm sure they will create a new job for "trash coordination" and be proud they created a new job! If there is concern about wear and tear on the roads, impose a use fee that all the haulers pay and keep them on a level playing field to pay for the added wear and tear. I will put up with the additional traffic in my neighborhood one day a week to let the free market work, keep more government out of our lives, and for local businesses to competitively stay in business.

A single hauler system is wrong because it would eliminate fair business trade and competition. This doesn't pass the smell test, which hauler is so fearful of competition that they would approach the city with this?

I vote NO. For a city this size one hauler could not keep up with the need. It would have to be a large and well organized company to do the job right and efficiently. I don;t think we have one here.

I agree with all the above, I like having options, and as Brad said, especially when a company tries to go up on your bill.

I would like the City of Richfield to have a all city cleanup like Bloomington once a year, where all household trash furniture appliances etc could be put on curb for pick-up. Bloomington pays for it by adding a few extra dollars on Water bill well worth the money...

I agree with with everyone else. I like having options, and like Brad said, especially when a company tries to increase the bill.

Although I don't have a dog in this fight, I would be against any attempt to allow a monopoly of services. Garbage haulers like any other service needs to be competitive for the consumer's best interest. Just like cable services. Look where that has gotten us. Each area only allows for only one cable provider which in turn allows the provider to jack up the prices and they don't have any incentive to provide quality service. Everywhere that I have lived I have had to endure monopolies by cable providers and have ended up getting hosed everytime. It's never a good idea to limit a market to only one supplier.

When this topic last came up, I had a letter published in the Ricfield Sun Current telling the City Council to keep itself out of the personal relationship that I have with my trash hauler. One of the points the city was trying to sell was that it was difficult for citizens to engage a trash hauler. I have changed three times and it was never difficult at all.
Recently some lady said that she counted I believe 19 trash trucks pass her house either in her alley or street. I guess that I should be grateful that someone has that much time to count trucks while I am working to pay my taxes and such.
After my letter appeard, I receved three phone messages from people who I do not know. Everyone felt obligated to start following Richfield and what it was trying to do to it's citizens...

You know, Mike. Patch accepts Letters to the Editor, too. :) (shameless plug)

DO NOT MESS WITH FAIR BUSINESS TRADE AND COMPETITION.

Although there are too many trucks up and down the streets, limiting service to one hauler would not allow me to negotiate prices. Haulers continually jack up their fees after signing customers. I have eventually had to call and argue/threaten to cancel with every hauler I have signed with. Citing customer loyalty, they then lower my bill back to their competitors' sign-up rate. If Richfield could guarantee $70-$75 per quarter for waste, recyling and yard waste, with no unreasonable increases, I would consider a new system, but I don't believe Richfield could keep that guarantee for long.

Comparing Richfield's waste collection to Minneapolis's is really apples and oranges, since Minneapolis has the very unusual setup of managing all waste collection internally (and does some bizarre things a private hauler never would, like issuing a 96-gallon bin as "standard" and only a tiny amount more expensive than the smallest size). Richfield is not talking about handling their waste themselves; just choosing one contract. I am not sure if the typical property owner would pay less with one hauler or not, but I have to believe that they're at least as competent at negotiating for 10 000 homes as I am for one. In any case, I think the benefit of reducing the ridiculous number of garbage trucks is worth a small, theoretical cost increase. They're dangerous, noisy, and cause heavy wear and tear on alleys. The less of them, the better.

I understand the concern with all the trucks on the road. On our block alone, there are five different vendors driving up and down the street on garbage day. My concern is that rates may go up without competition and service could decline. It is easy to change vendors when rates increase or service falls off.

If the City put the service up for bid every year, this could ensure a good rate and proper service.

You all have said it very well. So I will simply reinforce by saying - no single hauler for us in Richfield.

I'm sure that's possible, Jude, but remember there will be a periodic bidding process. My hometown of Northfield (which contracts with a single waste hauler) just switched to a relatively unknown local hauler, spurning Waste Management. Since in Richfield, we are in a geographically small municipality, surrounded by many others -- each with their own haulers and contracts -- I think we're pretty safe to select just one. Even if it ends up being a failure, there's no reason the city could not go back to allowing homes to privately contract after the whole-city contract is up.

Love this, and love our cheap garbage haulers compared to the big guys. My daughter LOVES seeing so many colors of garbage trucks -- I just wish the ones who charge twice as much weren't even allowed in Richfield ;) Boo to a monopoly!

Good things happen when there are less garbage trucks on the roads resulting from a competive biddng process to select one hauler:
1. Cost savings for citizens. The city of Maplewood realized an average savings of 50% per household on the solid waste collection portion of the city's households garbage collection bill, during the first year of its contract with the selected bidder. Their was no increase in rates for the second year.

2. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation one fully loaded garbage truck has the same impact on a street as 1,000 car trips. If weather conditions and other vehicles are the main factors for roadwear, as some suggest, why does Richfield have a four-ton per axle weight limit for its streets? It stands to reason that the city would save money on road repair.

3. Less trucks means less of these vehicles competing with children walking to school on the street in the early morning darkness.

4. If 19 truck trips are not too many on "garbage day," what number of trips would be too many?

My vote is to allow competition.

It ain't broke, no need to 'fix' it.

What do you think would happen to the companies suddenly lose business because they did not get the contract. Employees laid off and small business owners (who work hard and offer great prices to compete) no longer have the business to continue and a going concern. Government should not be in the business of picking the winners and losers. It should be decided by their competitiveness and willingness to please their customers.

I bet there is never a chance that money or gifts would change hands as the city prepares to decide who gets the contract. Government should not be in the business of picking the winners and losers.

Absolutely agree with the majority. I pay significantly less for my garbage collection than similar collection costs my friends in single source garbage collection towns. I am pro-market and believe that competition is healthy and that single source vendor models rarely benefit anyone but the vendor. ($600 toilet seats ring a bell with anyone?). I would rather use time and energy towards educating haulers of the benefits of using green technologies to lower weight and noise then to legislate who people use for services.

The city of Richfield already hoses on or permits to do anything in or outside our house to control every thing we do. Next there going to tell us what toilet paper we can buy. I don't want our town to end up like New York City where they can tell us how much pop we can drink. Stay out of the trash business, I lived in a city where we had it and the rates always for some reason would go up, and how come I want to get my garage door replaced I have to pay a hundred dollars more because Richfield has to have a special wind rated door that my garage would blow down first before the door would cave in. Leave our garbage along, they already tell us where we can and can not put the can.

Actually, I called Bert's today ( my garbage co. ) after realizing my recycling cost me 2x what my trash costs me per billing cycle. After requesting to cancel my recycling service, I was informed the City of Richfield requires you to have recycling??? They're already controlling what we do!

Dan we are getting coked out here, I have thought about moving, but it is a pain to even get out of this town the crap you have to go though is bad, inspections, the two cities i would never buy a house in again is Richfield and St. Louis Park, they say it's to make sure our community is safe and stays nice, really? I don't think so.

We have to avoid monopoly, because when we have options we the customer all win. With free competitiveness the businesses have to present us "customers" better price, better quality. On the other hand when there is only one business that offer the service, they don't offer, they impose the price, quality.......

I strongly oppose the city of Richfield dictating to their residents who to use. Some of the haulers are family owned businesses and I believe it unfair to take away the right to fair trade. Support fair trade and family owned businesses!

Here's a novel idea for those who don't like a dozen or more trucks driving on their street each week: band together with your neighbors and vote on which service/company you want, after appointing people to call the various companies to tell them that you are doing it and asking for the best price they would give your block of 10 or 30 or whatever neighbors. Vote, switch to that one, and if you like the service and price keep telling others. Eventually you will have less that stop and go on your street, and even less companies all together. Capitalism and consumer choice at their best!

If we don't start making an effort to solve problems creatively and with some effort, the gov't is just going to keep growing and making your decisions for you. Who would ever have guessed that cities would be micromanaging family garbage collection choices, anyway? What's next?

I do get tired of haulers constantly coming to my door and haranguing me for my business. Some of them are quite aggressive. I have had to put up no soliciting signs as a result. I am in favor of competition, but I think the number of different trucks on the street is slightly ridiculous. Surely if the city contracted with one hauler, they would be able to offer a better price due to the size of the market.