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New trash contract saves city of Williams $30,000

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - The city of Williams will save approximately $30,000 per year under a new contract with Waste Management that changes where drivers take trash and recycling from Williams.

Previously, city drivers took trash and recycling to Cinder Lake Landfill on the east side of Flagstaff.

Under the new contract, signed August 1, 2012, drivers take trash and recycling to a transfer station on Flagstaff Ranch Road.

The majority of the $30,000 in annual savings comes from city staff driving about 30 miles less roundtrip on each trip, said City Manager Brandon Buchanan. This equates to less travel time, gas, and wear and tear on vehicles. During tourist season, sanitation workers make as many as three trips per day.

Douglas Owens, city of Williams sanitation supervisor, added that the transfer trucks average 6 miles per gallon, so the savings in mileage is significant.

"It's a savings for the community," Owens said.

Some savings also comes from a lower fee per ton under the new contract.

Owens said the change is going well and drivers have had a positive reaction to the new route.

"There's two positives. It's quite a bit shorter and they don't have to fight the traffic," Owens said, adding that with the previous location drivers had to deal with traffic from Flagstaff Mall.

"They don't miss that," he said.

Under the new contract, city drivers pick up trash and recycling from residences and businesses and take it to the City of Williams Transfer Station at Airport Road and Frank Way. The trucks dump the trash into a large box where it is compacted. Recycling is not compacted.

From there, city drivers transport the material to the transfer station on Flagstaff Ranch Road. After that, the city of Williams' job is done. The trash eventually ends up in the Pen-Rob Landfill in Joseph City.


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