Plantation trash deal would let homes choose carts

Plantation homeowners could swap the city’s blue garbage bags for wheeled trash carts next spring. A rewritten contract with Waste Management would let each household choose. It would also move trash billing from the city to the company.

The amended and restated franchise agreement was on the City Council’s consent agenda for its Nov. 4 meeting, the meeting agenda shows. The city had not published the outcome by Thursday morning.

What would change

Assistant City Administrator Carole Morris set out the main terms in an Oct. 28 memo to the council (PDF):

• Your choice of carts or bags. Each household picks carts or the current pay-as-you-throw bags. It is a one-time choice. New customers get carts by default.
• Same pickup days. Routes and collection days do not change.
• Waste Management bills you. From April 1, the company bills homes directly instead of the city. Residents get access to an online portal to pay, report missed pickups and book special collections.
• City-owned carts. The carts carry the city logo. Waste Management maintains and replaces them.
• Bags stay on sale. Blue bags remain at local stores and on Amazon.
• A longer contract. The deal runs to Sept. 30, 2033. The current term ends Sept. 30, 2028.
• Smaller yearly increases. Rates would rise 4% a year, down from 5% under the current contract.

Waste Management would also repay the city’s consultant costs, up to $97,400. It would put $10,000 a year toward public education and $10,000 toward the city’s resident survey.

Key dates for carts

The contract’s transition plan sets two sign-up windows:

Cart service in the first window starts around April 1, the memo says.

From Nov. 1, 2027, to Jan. 31, 2028, cart customers can swap a 96-gallon cart for a 65-gallon one at no cost, the transition plan says.

Some neighborhoods already use carts, including Plantation Acres, Melaleuca Isles, Lago Largo and Hawks Landing. Their Waste Management carts would be swapped for city carts after the second rollout. The transition plan sets Oct. 1, 2028, for that.

What it would cost

Rates for the current year stay as they are. New rates start April 1, 2027, the memo says. They reflect the cost of each kind of service. The memo also proposes a new 5% residential franchise fee.

The memo lists the rates without stating the billing period. Plantation bills trash on the monthly city utility bill.

With the fee, the bag service rate would rise $5.55, or about 23%. The cart rate would rise $1.04, or about 3%. Bag prices stay the same:

• standard blue bag: $1.17
• kitchen bag: 70 cents
• recycling bag: 28 cents

The franchise fee would cover rising recycling costs, household hazardous waste collection and the city’s dues to the Broward County Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, the memo says. Hazardous waste pickup cost the city about $140,000 this year, paid from the general fund.

Why now

The city signed with Waste Management in 2016. After service problems in 2023 and 2024, the council told staff to seek competitive bids, the memo says. The city hired a consultant, MSW Consultants, in 2026. A request for proposals was planned for early 2027.

In July, Waste Management proposed service changes and an extension. The city opened talks and paused the consultant’s work Oct. 1. If the council approves the deal, the city will end the consultant contract.

What it means for you

• Do nothing and nothing changes. Bag customers who do not ask for a cart keep the blue bag system.
• Want a cart by April? The request deadline for the first window is Jan. 8. Waste Management will notify customers how to choose, the memo says.
• Watch for a new bill. From April 1, trash would be billed by Waste Management, not on your city utility bill.
• Missed pickup today? Call Waste Management at 954-974-7500. Our trash and recycling page has pickup days, bulk weeks and the blue bag rules.

We will update this story when the city publishes the council’s vote.