Ross residents can look forward to lower garbage bills beginning next year, and possibly continuing into the next decade.
Commissioners on Monday approved a new, four-year contract with County Hauling that will see residents’ bills drop by almost 40% from the current cost with Waste Management. The vote was 8-0, with Commissioner Pat Mullin absent.
The difference is so stark that even in 2030, the final year of the four-year agreement, Ross residents will still be paying about 31% less than this year.
”We are extremely pleased with the results of the submitted bids,” township Manager Jessica Crawshaw said. “We heard the concerns from our residents and worked diligently to develop bid specifications that reflect both operational needs and community feedback. Our goal was to balance cost, service quality, and reliability, and I believe these results demonstrate that commitment.”
The township’s current contract with Waste Management, through the North Hills Council of Governments, ends on Dec. 31. Instead of extending it for 2027 at the same cost, and with the council not doing another group bid, Ross chose to seek new bids on its own this year.
County Hauling submitted the lowest bids for manual and fully automated collection. Bids for automated collection, which Ross already uses, were lower, and Crawshaw suggested continuing with it.
A change that helped lower the cost was going from weekly to biweekly recycling collection, which all bids were based upon, Crawshaw said.
Monthly yard waste collection from May through September, monthly bulk item collection, and scheduled e-waste and hazardous household waste collection were included.
Four companies — County Hauling, Pro Waste, Vogel Disposal and Waste Management — attended a pre-bid meeting. Vogel did not submit a bid, and Pro Waste did not submit a bid for automated collection.
In Ross, residents are billed three times a year, with each bill being for four months of service. This year’s four-month cost with Waste Management is about $158, which increased about 9% from $145 in 2025.
Under the new contract with County Hauling, the four month rate will fall by about 37% to $99.80 for 2027. Annual increases are about 3% to $102.80 in 2028, $105.88 in 2029 and $109.04 in 2030.
The agreement has two optional years that, if used, would see 4.5% increases, to $113.96 in 2031 and $119.08 in 2032.
While Waste Management’s costs for 2027 through 2030 were less than it is charging now, ranging from $113.60 for four months in 2027 to $131.52 in 2030, they were 14% to 21% higher than County Hauling’s rates.
Under the existing and new contract, refuse carts belong to the contractor. As part of the transition, Waste Management will take back its containers in January and County Hauling will deliver new carts to residents at least one week before the start of service, Crawshaw said.
Residents will be getting 96-gallon carts for garbage, which can be exchanged for smaller 64-gallon or 35-gallon sizes after 60 days. Additional carts can be bought for an additional fee.
To help with recycling being collected every other week instead of weekly, 96-gallon carts will also be used for recycling, up from the current 64- or 65-gallon containers, Crawshaw said.
Senior citizens age 65 and up will be able to get a 15% discount rate, up from the current 10%, with a 35-gallon cart. Commissioners chose that option over a senior sticker program.
Other details on the new contract with County Hauling:
• Yard waste will be collected from May through September. Residents can put out up to eight biodegradable paper bags per collection or ask for a cart for automated service. Yard waste generated outside of those months or over the eight bag limit can be placed in refuse collection carts.
• One bulk item will be collected per month.
• Residents can ask for a temporary suspension of service waiver if a property is vacant for two to six months. Requests must be submitted to County Haling at least 30 days in advance of the desired suspension date.