Contracts

The Killeen City Council wants to see a direct comparison between outsourcing the service and the city’s current collection system.

The city will evaluate if and how privatizing waste and recycling collection could save the city money in the long run.

Council members are still unhappy with how the contract is being awarded.

At a recent meeting, haulers implored the City Council to keep the city’s current open-market trash and recycling system instead of moving forward with a franchised collection system.

Haulers, residents and government staff worked with legal and financial representatives to hammer out rates and contract details.

The electricity sold to Avista is used to power homes and businesses in the Inland Northwest.

The city has been sending recyclables collected from residential recycling bins to Wheelabrator Technologies to be burned and transformed into steam energy and electricity that’s sold onto the grid.

All businesses in violation of the franchise agreement received letters detailing that they must respond within 30 days or receive a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Under the contract, Bigbelly will provide access to up to 500 Bigbelly smart waste and recycling across any and all of the 13 state universities.

The contract would bring 96-gallon trash carts to residences and automated trucks to city streets.