Village of Roscoe begins new trash contract, bigger recycling bins, no opt-outs

Residents of the Village of Roscoe will be switching to every-other-week collection of recyclable materials beginning Tuesday, February 7, 2023. The change is part of the new five-year contract with Waste Management of Illinois (WM) that begins in 2023. With the schedule change comes larger recycling carts. The new 96 gallon recycling carts, with yellow lids, will be dropped off starting on Monday January 30.

The Village of Roscoe announced, "During this same week, we ask that you leave the older 35-gallon carts out at the road edge once the materials have been collected.  Separate trucks will be dispatched to collect the old recycling carts. Please note that the delivery of the new cart and the collection of the old cart may not happen on the same day, but weather permitting all operations are expected to be completed between the dates of 1/30/23 and 2/3/23."

UPDATE: Residents can call the Village of Roscoe office if they want to keep using the older, smaller carts.

More about the WM contract:
WM apologizes to Roscoe for premature garbage bills
Village of Roscoe to approve new trash collection contract on Tuesday
Roscoe approves Waste Management contract: "the cheapest, lowest number we got"

Garbage fees have gone up from $15.00 a month to $25.50 a month, still less than what families outside the Village usually pay. Many Village of Roscoe residents objected to the unexpected increase - the first since 2018 - and some have been looking for alternatives.

But Lisa Disbrow, a WM of Illinois spokesperson, says, "Residents can not opt out of the service."

She says, "Our contract with the Village of Roscoe is to provide residential services to the approximately 3,500 residential units.  WM provides service for trash, recycling (every other week with a 96-gallon cart provided by WM to the residents) and yard waste (seasonal weekly collection) with each type of these materials collected in separate trucks. "

Disbrow adds, "Like other industries and businesses, our industry has experienced similar cost increases due to the pandemic and supply chain issues, which was reflected in the bids that the Village received.    WM was chosen by the Village as the low responsible bidder to the Village’s public Request for Proposals (RFP) for the solid waste and recycling residential contract from the bids submitted."

Local civic leaders say that one reason for the exclusive contract, besides the lower negotiated price, is that fewer truck routes means less wear and tear on the roads. Some neighborhoods outside the Village of Roscoe see and hear garbage trucks from as many as five companies each week.