Mayor: Trash service has improved in McKeesport
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
In his 2021 mayoral budget message and during Wednesday’s council meeting, Mayor Michael Cherepko offered an update about garbage and recycling hauling in McKeesport.
The city is entering into a second year with County Hauling of Rostraver Township, and the mayor acknowledged there were issues with the company’s services at the onset of its coverage in January. However, he said things are getting better.
The budget message is attached to next year’s spending plan, which is balanced at $22.1 million and comes with no tax hike. In addition to providing details about municipal financial matters, the message includes a snapshot of initiatives the city plans to undertake over the next year. It will be included with the December council meeting minutes on the city’s website.
McKeesport entered into the County Hauling contract in November 2019 after the company won in the electronic bidding process through Enviro 21, which the mayor said “helped us find a price that would provide a significant savings to the city.”
Enviro 21 is an online marketplace designed to handle bidding for “hard-good and service contracts” in the public and private sectors, according to its website.
The contract was awarded at $79.95 per ton of refuse hauling, which the mayor said translated to a 30% savings in garbage collection services.
“I would be remiss if I failed to mention the initial complications of the city’s transition to service with County Hauling,” Cherepko wrote in the annual message. “As we transitioned into 2020, the company appeared to have underestimated the complexity of our urban route, which includes a lot of on-street parking and alley pickups.
“What (County Hauling) assumed would be a two-day service quickly reverted to McKeesport’s traditional five-day pickup schedule. Even then, increased tonnage followed nationwide COVID trends that led to delayed pickups over the course of several months.”
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