Council rejects new five-year contract to current yard waste collection company

By MATT HOPF Herald-Whig Staff Writer

The Quincy City Council has rejected a proposed five-year contract with a Decatur-based company that has operated the city's yard-waste program since 2003 after hearing complaints from another bidder.

Evans Recycling had received $529,362 per year since the original deal was extended in 2008 and expired last year, and a new deal was expected to be approved Monday night.

However, Jack Brockhouse of Jacksonville said his bid -- which was rejected by the city because he didn't have the necessary Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permits and no place to dump yard waste -- argued that he could save the city $400,000 over the life of a five-year deal.

"I've got the equipment," he said. "It's all leased. It's all brand new. As far as having two trucks, I have a backup truck coming if I get the proposal."

The city requested proposals for yard waste collection when it sought garbage and recycling collection proposals last fall. Exact costs have not been released, because bids weren't sought.

Mayor Kyle Moore said a resolution on Brockhouse's proposal would be drafted for next week's meeting.

Rex Evans, owner of Evans Recycling, told aldermen that his company currently operates in several cities, which benefited Quincy during the 2011 windstorm that caused significant damage across the city.

"At that time, we were able to take in, just city residents alone, 1,400 people per day," he said. "That doesn't include the city trucks, the state trucks, the county trucks and all of the other people as far as your landscape trucks that were able to do it."

Evans said the storm basically doubled the expenses for the firm in 2011.

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Council rejects new five-year contract to current yard waste collection company