A Camden-based refuse hauler has come up short in a legal effort to overturn bids sought by the county.
Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights ruled that successful bids by industry giants Republic and Independent were lawful.
Attorneys for Charlie’s Waste Services, Camden, claimed there were problems in the process that included correspondence between the two successful bidders and rejecting its lower quote.
Charlie’s operates in a portion of Maryland, Sussex and Kent County, DE with residential and commercial waste services.
Slights noted that the county has been experiencing difficulties with the reliability of the current hauler to the point that other companies sometimes had to fill the gap for missed pickups and service problems.
Bids were based on the ability to provide reliable service as well as cost.
The ruling noted that Charlie’s did not at first met standards that were set up, but was allowed to resubmit the information. Still, county department heads supervising the process remained concerned about the number of truck mechanics, the age of equipment and ability to ramp up operations.
The Charlie’s website states that the company is slated to get new equipment.
Kent County Levy Court, unlike other unincorporated areas of the state, bids out refuse service, rather than asking the homeowner choose a hauler. The approach reduces noise and the number of noisy and sometimes old, noisy
The approach reduces noise and the number of trucks of varied age and mechanical condition rumbling through subdivisions and roads at various times during the week.
The current system outside of Kent has drawn fire in some quarters. Counties do not have a mechanism for determining whether a household has trash service.
That has contributed to illegal dump sites in Sussex County and trash bags along side roads in other areas, as well as some individuals looking for the nearest commercial dumpster to deposit their household refuse.
The situation has been complicated by recycling legislation that requires haulers to offer the service. In return, incentives were offered for buying new equipment and setting up recycling related enterprises.
At the same time, restrictions have been placed on yard waste in northern Delaware, with homeowners required to buy a separate service from a hauler or take their tree limbs and grass clippings to a drop-off site.One such site in the Newark area is targeted for closing under a state budget proposal.
One such site in the Newark area is targeted for closing under a state budget proposal. That also leads to dumping in common areas of subdivisions.
One such free yard waste site in the Newark area is targeted for closing under a state budget proposal.
