New Bedford Names Capitol Waste Services as New Municipal Trash Hauler

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — E.L. Harvey Waste & Recycling is out as the trash hauler for the City of New Bedford and the City has entered in a new contract with Boston-based Capitol Waste Services, Inc., Mayor Jon Mitchell announced today.

The new service will begin on Monday, July 3, and residents will not see any disruption in service.

The three-year contract with Capitol Waste Services will total $26.4 million.

“They were not the lowest bidder,” Mitchell told WBSM’s Marcus Ferro and Chris McCarthy on Wednesday. “It was close on cost, but there was just a very strong feeling their services were going to be the most complete and reliable, and that’s why we went with them.”

“There had been a considerable amount (of complaints) not only to my office, to my administration generally, but also to city councilors about how people felt about those services, so that also factored into the decision as well. We’re very confident this is a company, Capitol, that will provide our residents the service they expect and deserve,” he said.

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Capitol Waste Services is a privately-owned company that the City said “is a fully insured and bonded waste management and disposal service company whose municipal and commercial customers are concentrated throughout eastern Massachusetts, including Boston.”

Incorporated in July 2002, the company has a reputation as a safe, dependable, responsive, and cost-efficient provider of customized disposal and waste collection services,” the City said. ”The company employs union laborers who are trained to provide efficient, professional service.”

“We can assure the mayor, the city council, and the City’s residents that you will receive the service standards that you expect for your tax dollars,” Capitol Waste Services owner Joseph Ricupero said.

Capitol Waste Services Inc. currently has about 180 employees and intends to hire former employees of E.L. Harvey.

The City’s contract with E.L. Harvey officially ends on Friday, June 30. It was the remainder of the contract the City initially signed with what was then ABC Disposal, Inc. back in 2013, a 10-year fixed-price contract. The City filed a lawsuit against ABC Disposal in May of 2018 after ABC after the hauler raised its recycling fees. A jury ruled in favor of the City.

In 2021, New York-based Waste Connections, Inc., a publicly traded company, acquired ABC Disposal, which had been in existence since 1967 but had battled issues such as bankruptcy in recent years. Waste Connections began providing service to New Bedford under the E.L. Harvey name following the acquisition.

“Although not required by state procurement law, the City solicited proposals for the new refuse contract and hired a consultant specializing in municipal waste management to guide the City’s evaluation of the proposals,” a City release said. “The evaluation team concluded that Capitol Waste offered the highest value services.”

“It’s our duty to ensure that New Bedford residents receive curbside collection services in a timely, efficient, and courteous manner,” said Director of the Department of Facilities and Fleet Management Jennifer Vieira. “Capitol Waste Services stood out based on their reputation of excellent customer service, their favorable references, and impressive readiness to mobilize. We welcome them to our City and look forward to establishing a productive working relationship.”

The release also stated that the City will be taking over management of the recycling center on Shawmut Avenue from E.L. Harvey, and that in order to facilitate that transition, the center will be closed starting Friday, June 30 and will reopen on Wednesday, July 5.

“There’s going to be a transition there,” Mitchell said on WBSM. “For the time being, we are going to take over that part of the management there, but eventually that’s going to be handled by Capitol.”