Oregon officials approve Northern Illinois Disposal Services as city’s new waste collector

OREGON – Northern Illinois Disposal Services is the city’s new choice for curbside waste collection.

City commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to accept the Rochelle company’s bid for the five-year contract over two other providers, Midwest Disposal and Republic Services.

City Manager Darin DeHaan said the final cost to residents has yet to be determined, as elements of the contract continue to be fine-tuned by the council’s subcommittee that includes himself and two commissioners, Melanie Cozzi and Kurt Wilson.

“We were able to do more research, and we looked at everything,” Wilson said. “We vetted out recycling options, and we are recommending Northern Disposal.”

Wilson said an every-other-week collection for recyclable items appears to be working for other municipalities with Northern Disposal.

At the Aug. 13 meeting, DeHaan said options for commissioners to consider to help control rates would be going to every-other-week recycling collection, rather than each-week collection, and whether to continue offering yard waste collection.

On Tuesday, DeHaan said yard waste collection is included in the accepted bid.

The city had contracted with Moring Disposal of Forreston, but that company was sold to Republic Services in 2022.

Michael O’Malley, district manager for Northern Illinois Disposal Services, said his company has 13 municipal contracts.

“We do great customer service. All the calls come directly to us. We also have cameras on all our trucks,” O’Malley said at the Aug. 13 meeting.

DeHaan said the bid total did not yet represent the actual cost to residents because some factors, such as administration fees, had yet to be determined by city officials.

The bids ranged from $19.39 to $20.96 for similar services currently offered, but that does not reflect the cost to residents. Each bid also reflects yearly increases during the duration of the five-year contract. The current rate is $18.25.

For information, contact City Hall at 815-732-6321.