OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — "Trash talk" has recently abounded in one Ottawa County community, literally.
Spring Lake Township signed an exclusive garbage collection deal with Republic Services earlier this year. Not everyone seemed to be happy with the idea, with some refusing to ditch their current provider.
“I don't know how it's going to play out,” Resident James Burke related.
Burke held up a copy of the message that went out in the local newsletter, notifying residents of the exclusive deal.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’ve got a contract,” Burke noted. “We don't have any intention to change it.”
“Obviously, there are some people for various reasons that aren't happy about the idea,” John Nash, the Spring Lake Township supervisor said of the debate.
Most residents, he said, already utilized Republic anyway.
Nash says the exclusive three-year-deal that got the green light from the township board in May just made sense after the local provider that serviced the Township for decades folded in 2021.
“We had two public engagement meetings,” Nash said, explaining the lengths to which the township had gone to secure public input as negotiations continued. “The information has been out there. We didn't sneak around behind anybody's back.”
Under the Township’s agreement, Nash said, most residents could expect to save around $250 a year.
And they’re in good company, he noted, citing a survey which showed a number of other nearby communities had also inked exclusive deals, naming Republic as the sole operator.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Nash related, arguing time would tell where township residents stood. “We do have that caveat… if for some reason, Republic isn’t providing the service we’d like, we can say see you.”
And yet, Burke suggested there had already been issues with the provider under a previous contract.
“They raised the rates from what our agreement was,” he said. “We just had problems with them all the time.”
It’s why Burke and the Baird Pointe Farms Association, where he serves as secretary, independently signed a contract with a new provider last January.
“If we get a better price, it's a free market. Everybody ought to be able to do that,” he suggested. “The township doesn't pay the bill, I have to pay the bill.”
That deal was slated to last two more years. Burke worried the Township may not allow them to see it out.
“It's unfortunate we got to this situation, but hopefully it'll work out,” he related.
Burke said he also took issue with the rate increases and fuel surcharges embedded into the Township’s deal.
13 ON YOUR SIDE inquired but wasn’t given a definitive answer as far as whether Spring Lake Township and Republic would honor the neighborhood’s agreement or what that would mean for residents like Burke, who intended to continue with that provider over Republic.
In response to an emailed request for comment, Republic Services issued the following statement:
“Republic Services of Western Michigan is a committed community partner and has been communicating with customers to ensure as seamless a transition as possible. We look forward to providing services for the residents throughout Spring Lake Township.”
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