Proposal could see Jackson in new contract with Waste Management

JACKSON, Tenn. — Local leaders said they had decided not to renew the contract with Waste Management for garbage pickup in Jackson.

However, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger says the city is now moving forward with plans to enhance the way trash is picked up, while saving the city money, and using Waste Management.

In December 2020, the city sent out a request for proposals for a solid waste contract. Waste Management was chosen after much consideration.

“We established a committee that had some experts in the field, some council members, and some of our staff working health and sanitation to review those proposals, grade them, then they interviewed a top two or three, graded those as well,” said Mayor Conger. “Waste Management scored the highest.”

There will be changes made in an updated contract that will save the city a total of $12.8 million.

“It’s going to reduce the cost for the city. It’s going to make it more clear and concise on the responsibilities. In the current contracts, there’s some grey areas and things that weren’t as clear as they needed to be, and so we cleaned all that up,” Mayor Conger said.

The City of Jackson will be responsible for bulky waste, as opposed to the hybrid model from the previous contract. Waste Management will be responsible for trash pickup.

“We’re going for twice a week still. Same days. If you get your trash picked up on Monday and Thursdays, it’s still going to be Monday and Thursday, but it’s going to be curbside pickup and then Waste Management will provide the trash bin,” Mayor Conger said.

Mayor Conger says the updated contract will give residents more access to control over their trash disposal.

“Right now, with the backdoor service the way it is, it’s really up to the driver to determine if a house on a street has backdoor pickup or if they’ll bring it to the curb, or they just don’t have trash that day,” Mayor Conger said.

“Now there is a system in place so if someone is elderly, someone is disabled, they’ll be a number they can call to be on the list to have backdoor pickup. That way the driver knows all the addresses that require it and are unable to bring their trash to the street so there’s no guesswork for the driver,” Mayor Conger said.

The mayor says the overall goal is for trash to be picked up more consistently.

The new contract will be presented to council members for review at their monthly meeting Tuesday, April 6 before voting on it.