Monongahela approves new refuse hauler contract
City residents have been complaining about the service from Earthwise Environmental Solutions.
Monongahela council approved a contract for a new refuse provider Wednesday, following complaints about the current one.
Council unanimously approved the bid from Pro Waste LLC to become the city’s new refuse provider. Fayette Waste LLC submitted the second bid, but Pro Waste had a lower cost.
Councilwoman Sarah O’Brien said the city has been receiving several complaints about the current provider, Big’s Sanitation, which is now known as Earthwise Environmental Solutions. O’Brien said the city has been receiving emails from residents complaining about their services.
“There has been a lot of issues with their services that they have been giving the residents here,” O’Brien said. “And I just want it to be known that the residents’ voices have been heard. They have been heard. We understand their frustration. A couple of times a week, we have complaints with them not picking up or missing pickup.”
With Pro Waste, residents will pay $228 per unit for the whole year, for the first and second years of the contract. After the first two years, the rate will start to increase $3 each year.
Fayette Waste LLC would have been $276 per unit for the first year if the city had accepted its higher bid.
“Last year was a Big’s year, and that’s when the complaints started coming in and stuff like that,” O’Brien said. “And we met with them. We’ve been meeting with them, trying to see what the issue is to get everything resolved.”
O’Brien said they recently sent out 432 letters because Earthwise was telling the city that was how many residents were delinquent. Residents eventually started calling the city, stating their bills were current and aired other issues, which is when city officials learned Earthwise had issues with its billing system.
Service with Pro Waste will begin on Jan. 1, 2026, and O’Brien said residents do not have to take any action. O’Brien said they will be notifying residents on social media and putting a sign outside City Hall.
“I don’t want to let the residents down. We’re here to hopefully resolve their issues and keep the city good,” she said.
Honoring Dr. Ronald Pellegrini
Mayor Greg Garry read a proclamation during the meeting declaring Friday as Dr. Ronald Pellegrini Day in the City of Monongahela.
Garry said Pellegrini is a renowned cardio-vascular surgeon who was born and raised in the city.
“Dr. Ronald Pellegrini dedicated his life to the health and well-being of the citizens of Monongahela and the surrounding Mon Valley community,” Garry read in his proclamation. “And whereas for more than four decades Dr. Pellegrini served with passion, skill, and dedication as a physician, earning trust and deep respect from countless patients and their families.”
The Monongahela Area Historical Society is hosting a special dinner in Pellegrini’s honor on Friday at the Monongahela Valley Country Club. Pellegrini will reflect on his “Impossible Journey from Coal Miner to Heart Surgeon,” the title of his recently released autobiography.
