City renews trash disposal contract with WIN Waste Innovations

By Barbara Taormina

REVERE – The City Council approved a new 10-year contract with WIN Waste at their meeting this week. The current contract expires on June 30, and city Chief Financial Officer Richard Viscay said he had been negotiating with WIN Waste for the past month on a new deal. Although the contract was negotiated exclusively with WIN Waste, Viscay told the council it was a good deal, the best the city could expect.

Viscay explained that for the first five years the rate would increase roughly five percent annually. This year, WIN Waste will charge $88.25 a ton for disposal, next year, $91.78 a ton, $95.48 a ton in 2027 and so on. In years six through 10, both WIN Waste and the city will have the option to extend or renegotiate. WIN Waste has agreed to take all of Revere’s yard waste for free as long as it fits in the Rumney Marsh landfill without exceeding the 50-foot height limitation. Currently, the city pays $16 per ton for yard waste disposal. Viscay said the company expects to reach the limit in two years.

WIN Waste is also making a $25,000 contribution to the city. Viscay said that Mayor Patrick Keefe intends to use that money to launch a composting program. “Anything we can do to keep waste out of the landfill is helpful.”

The rates would apply even if WIN Waste finds itself in the position of having to truck out its ash to another landfill.

Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya was the first to ask Viscay about the contract. “When are they going to close?” asked Guarino-Sawaya about the facility. Residents in Point of Pines and Riverside, her constituents, have long complained about problems at the facility, including what they believe are hazardous emissions that cause respiratory health problems. “They truck all sorts of ash through the city. I don’t understand why we keep going back to them when we want them to be shut down. I’m disgusted with them and their toxic ash.”

It has been noted in the past that the ash that is deposited in the landfill at WIN Waste has been classified as nonhazardous material by MassDEP and U.S. EPA.

Other councillors questioned Viscay about negotiating with WIN Waste exclusively and about the rates of other solid waste disposal companies. “I think this is a favorable deal no matter what you think of the business,” said Viscay, adding that Revere’s rates were one of the lowest.

“Did we bid this out?” asked City Council Vice President Ira Novoselsky.

Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelly asked about comparative rates from other companies.

Viscay said the contract talks were exclusively with WIN Waste. “I don’t think we would have gotten anything better,” said Viscay.

Although he did not have any quotes for comparison, Viscay said moving to another disposal company would be complicated. The city’s contract with Capital trash hauling is dependent on the trucks bringing loads to WIN Waste to be incinerated. “I didn’t think it was worth disrupting the collection contract,” said Viscay.

Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto applauded the deal Viscay negotiated with WIN Waste. “You won’t get anything better than this anyplace else. This is better than I thought he would have gotten. This is protecting the taxpayer.”

City Council President Anthony Cogliandro said he was sure Viscay had done a great job negotiating but he was concerned about the ongoing growth in the area and the increasing amount of ash from incinerated trash.

Councillors Guarino-Sawaya, Marc Silvestri and Cogliandro voted against approving the contract.

The Revere Advocate reached out for comment regarding the renewed contract with the city. Mary Urban, Sr. Director of Communications & Community, WIN Waste Innovations, replied in an email, “WIN Waste is pleased to continue to provide a reliable, affordable and local waste disposal solution for Revere. Waste-to-energy remains the preferred method of waste disposal because it offsets the need for fossil fuels, eliminates long-haul trucking of waste to out-of-state landfills and recycles thousands of tons of metals each year. For every ton of waste handled at our waste-to-energy facility, we are avoiding up to two tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We are especially proud to partner with our neighboring communities as we convert up to 1,500 tons of residential and commercial waste into renewable energy every day, enough to power almost 17,000 homes. We accomplish this while being one of the most highly-regulated industries in the country and operating in compliance with all local, state and federal permits.”