Photo by Becky Polaski Ed Yahner addressed members of City Council on Monday night regarding St. Marys contracting with one hauler for all residential waste collection.

By Becky Polaski

Veolia Environmental Services Area Manager Ed Yahner made a special presentation to members of City Council on Monday night regarding the prospect of St. Marys contracting one hauler to collect all residential waste. 

“I had the opportunity to come up three or four weeks ago and meet with some folks from the city and just share a few ideas about residential waste collection and some of the opportunities that might be available to some of the residents of St. Marys,” Yahner said.

He added that St. Marys Garbage Disposal came on as part of the Veolia team back in 1997.

Yahner explained that having a single residential waste hauler for a city the size of St. Marys is fairly common.

“Normally what happens is it provides better service for the residents because the city, by contract, can basically outline a program custom fit to your needs,” Yahner said.

He added that having a single hauler also means that there will be less traffic on the streets.

“One of the other issues as well, and maybe most important to some, is that you can have reduced costs meaning costs savings to residents,” Yahner said. “Normally if one hauler can collect the entire city they will get economies of scale. Instead of passing by customers to get to their next stop they will pick up all of the customers on a street rather than just three or four.”

Yahner also cited several other area communities such as the City of DuBois, Borough of Johnsonburg, and Borough of Brockway, that have contracts with one hauler that have been very successful.

“It is a nice opportunity for a city, borough, or any municipality to basically get exactly what fits best for the city and what would probably work best for the residents,” said Yahner.

Additionally, Yahner discussed the bid process that the city would likely go through. He explained that the city would put together specifications to ensure that all their needs are met while at the same time put together some safeguards for the as well.

“Most contracts, if not all, include items like performance bonds,” he explained.

If the contracted hauler fails to fulfill their obligation then this bond covers the cost of bringing in someone else to do the job. He added that the city would also be able to set insurance requirements as well.

Yahner also discussed the risks involved to his company and the other two area haulers, Groll’s Disposal and Elk Waste Service, Inc., and the impact it could have on those businesses.

“I know we had a discussion there are pretty many haulers in the city of St. Marys,” Yahner explained. “Veolia is one of the haulers as well. We, like all the other haulers when a situation like this happens, all stand to lose something at times. However, we understand as well what’s best to benefit the city and its residents.”