PORTAGE, Mich. — In a roll call vote, the City of Portage chose WM, or Waste Management, to serve as the City's sole provider for refuse services. Currently, there are multiple waste services serving Portage.
According to the city, WM came in with the lowest bid for the job. The contract is for five years, will begin in March of 2026, and will include yard waste, trash, and recycling services.
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In a city presentation, they showed that refuse service Best Way came in with a bid of around $38 million. Service provider Republic came in with a bid around $34 million. WM's bid was for around $29 million.
City leadership says this decision will drive down costs for residents. They also believe that it will improve road conditions, with less heavy trucks on the road.
"For the same service, same company, everybody’s paying different prices. We’ve done survey after survey, and gotten copies of people’s bills, and everybody is different for no apparent reason,” City Manager Pat McGinnis told FOX 17 ahead of the meeting.
Residents of Portage expressed their concerns about the decision, many saying they would have preferred local company Best Way. Residents also expressed they wanted the freedom to choose their trash provider.
“Only allowing one option for trash removal, is the same as saying we can we can only shop at Meijer, or Hardings, depending on who won the bid,” one resident said at public comment.
“How does selecting a national company align with that campaign when there are other local campaigns that are involved in and effected by this process?," said another resident.
Residents applauded after people expressed their opposition to the single-haul provider system.
The next Portage City Council meeting is on Tuesday, August 12, at 6 p.m.
