Over the past 24 hours, the City has been made aware of Waste Connections Inc’s (Olympic Disposal) intent to discontinue some residential service components to our citizens within the community. The City of Port Angeles shares the concerns our citizens have felt due to yesterday’s press release by WCI and corresponding press coverage. The statements put out by WCI were not shared with the City prior to release. Moreover, these statements are not in alignment with WCI’s contractual obligations to continue service while termination negotiations and a transition plan are finalized. The citizens of Port Angeles are the City’s top priority and as we have been actively planning for this transition for several months, the statements released are inconsistent with the process that WCI and the City have been and will continue to follow. Due to WCI’s message, which signals an intent to deviate from its contractual obligations to the City of continuing service until termination details are finalized, the City is currently evaluating its legal options to require WCI to continue to fulfill its service obligations.
The reality is, the City took action earlier this year to notify WCI that termination planning and negotiations would commence, as continuing to use WCI as a contractor on behalf of the City would have required rates to increase to unaffordable levels for our community. After seeing the press release by WCI signaling an intent to prematurely discontinue service, the City assures our customers that it will do everything in its power to ensure a seamless transition. At the same time, irresponsible actions by WCI and supply chain issues may cause short term service glitches, but we are working to minimize those potential issues.
In addition, your City remains committed to protecting the environment and the natural beauty we benefit from on the peninsula. A strong recycling program is a key part of that effort and fundamental to our long-term success. While it is clear that WCI does not share the same intention to provide a seamless service transition for the community as a partner with the City, we will work to minimize the impact and look forward to releasing information relative to service transition dates once finalized through negotiations, as well as a brighter municipal solid waste future as these services return to our exceptional city staff.
For follow up questions please contact publicworks@cityofpa.us, or for current information call 360.417.4872.
Provided by:
Thomas Hunter
Director of Public Works and Utilities
Phone: 360-457-0411
Email: publicworks@cityofpa.us
Website: www.cityofpa.us