Islamorada will see a new trash hauler beginning Jan. 1, 2024. During a June 8 meeting, the village council voted 4-1 to select Island Disposal Company over the current provider, Waste Management.
Contract negotiations will begin between the village and Island Disposal Company. Council members said they want a contract that spans 10 years instead of five.
Island Disposal Company is owned by Brian Lindback, who formerly ran Atlantic Trash & Transfer in Key Largo. Joining Lindback in the business are two men who spent decades in the solid waste industry, Glen Miller and Jim Wheatley. The two retired from their careers and began living in Islamorada.
“It’s a vital service to the community and I wouldn’t take this on alone without these guys and their experience behind me,” he said.
In his statements to the council, Lindback said trucks and canisters will be ready to go before the 2024 start date. Miller said the transition will begin a month before they start hauling trash. He said they will bring in workers he once used to help get things off the ground.
“It will be boots on the ground ahead of time. We’ll be training drivers and getting cans delivered,” Miller said.
Before the council voted on the matter, an evaluation committee met two days prior to rank and recommend a garbage hauler for the village based on a request for proposals that was sent out in early March. Committee scores saw Island Disposal Company receiving the most points, 408, followed by Atlantic Trash & Transfer, 393, and Waste Management, 320. Atlantic Trash & Transfer was disqualified for breaking the “cone of silence,” which prohibits communication between firms and village officials during the process until a contract is approved.
Greg Sullivan, local manager with Waste Management, took issue with the evaluation committee’s scores. He said his company received the lowest marks due to the fact he received zeroes for price. Sullivan said there was too much attention on pricing sheets for a 10-year contract, which detailed a yearly cost of $1,483 for a single-family home, as opposed to a five-year contract, which showed a yearly cost of $778 for a single-family home.
“We’re very leery about a 10-year plan. No one can tell you what price is going to be in 10 years or where trash will go,” Sullivan said, adding that garbage prices hinge on costs such as shipment from county transfer stations to landfill sites outside the county.
Sullivan added that only Wheatley and Miller had prior garbage hauling experience. Waste Management took over garbage service for the village in 2020 after buying out Advanced Disposal. Before the acquisition, Advanced Disposal missed pickups due to truck breakdowns. Waste Management hauls trash from south of the 7 Mile Bridge. The company also oversees four transfer stations in the Keys.
Jonathon Lindback, Brian’s son, told the council that he wants to keep the contract in the community for many years to come. He said tax dollars spent for garbage service through Island Disposal Company will be put back into the community.
“This is a generational thing where we can service our friends, family and community,” he said.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Jolin was the lone “no” vote. She acknowledged concern in going with a new company, despite her love for the Lindback family. Mayor Buddy Pinder said village taxpayers don’t want a 67% increase in costs for trash pickup.
“People gotta start somewhere. I didn’t have an underground utility company, and I started it and it became successful,” Pinder said.
