Transfer Station's New Contract

From The Newport Daily News:

Portsmouth selects contractor for transfer station

By James A. Johnson
Daily News staff

A new contractor soon will be operating the town’s refuse transfer station at Hedly Street and East Main Road.

The Portsmouth Town Council awarded a contract Monday night to Patriot Disposal Inc., the lowest of three bidders for the contract. The firm is based in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Patriot’s bid was about $33,000 less than that of the current contractor, Waste Management Inc.

Monday’s vote was unanimous and came without discussion.

The contract calls for the transfer station to be open until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Under the current contract, it is open one night a week. The station will continue Saturday operation and will be closed Wednesdays.

Judi Staven, chairwoman of the Solid Waste/Recycling Committee, asked the council about the placement of signs at the transfer station dealing with recycling and showing the rate of the town recycling compared to its goal.

She also asked if the gate attendant could be instructed to keep track of what loads leave the station and the time they are hauled away.

Town Administrator Robert G. Driscoll assured her that those issues will be dealt with in further discussion with Patriot.

“We have a new vendor,” he said. “Signage is one of many improvements that we are talking to them about.”

The town already is keeping logs on when loads are hauled off and when they reach their destination, he said.

Ernest Caron, former chairman of the recycling committee, offered two suggestions to improve operations at the transfer station. Often there is only one pit open, he said, but the traffic will back up with cars waiting to unload. Opening a second pit would ease the congestion, he said.

He also suggested having two empty open pits for recycling on Monday mornings: one for paper and one for other material. Often those pits are full on Monday, and people have no place to dump the recyclable materials.

Driscoll said the town will discuss those issues with the new operator, but the town can only haul away loads when the state landfill in Johnston is open.

The new contract is for one year with an option to renew for two years.