The city of Marthasville has selected a new trash hauler that will provide service at a cheaper price. However, savings from the deal might not be passed on to residents.

Marthasville’s Board of Aldermen voted 3-0 to approve a three-year contract with Meridian Waste at its May 20 public meeting. As part of Meridian’s contract, residents will have the option to sign up for recycling service.

That’s in contrast to Marthasville’s agreement with previous hauler Grace Hauling, which required each resident to be charged for recycling, whether they utilize the service or not.

The city had been paying Grace Hauling $14 per household, per month to provide trash and recycling services. But in its 2020 contract bid, Grace separated recycling into an additional $7 charge, meaning trash and recycling would cost $21 monthly for each household, said Mayor David Lange.

Meridian Waste’s bid came in significantly lower than that at an $8 monthly fee per household, Lange said. Meridian’s bid on recycling included the option for each resident to choose whether or not to participate, at an additional cost of $3.50 per month.

That recycling cost would be increased to $4.50 per month to provide the service on the same day as trash collection, according to a Meridian representative, which is an adjustment aldermen voted to approve.

“I’m in favor of leaving it up to the residents to have the option to pay for recycling, versus forcing them to pay for it and not using it,” said East Ward Alderman Nick Lange.

Anyone wishing to sign up for recycling would contact the city clerk, who will then arrange for appropriate billing and pickup, city officials said.

Aldermen also received an answer for a lingering question about bulky item pickup charges. Meridian will charge $30 per ton for twice-yearly bulky item collection, Mayor Lange said.

Marthasville pays its trash hauler a lump sum for services to residents, then does its own billing for individual households. Although City Hall will pay a smaller sum to Meridian under the new contract, residents won’t see much change in their bill for trash service.

After approving the contract with Meridian, aldermen debated how much to charge residents as an administrative fee. The cost of staff time to process bills and payments for postage were not previously funded through utility billing, meaning the city was essentially providing the service at a loss, said Mayor Lange.

After a lengthy discussion, aldermen decided not to alter what the city charges for trash collection, and continue billing residents $14 per month.