The guts of this bill would simply be "Subsection (b) of section 1 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (30)."

The why of this bill is that Cities & Towns spend millions & millions of dollars on these services (>$2.2mm in Andover alone) yet are not required to competitively bid these services under the Public Procurement Law process despite the opportunity for significant savings.  Furthermore competition is thwarted and less robust than otherwise would be the case as potential bidders/respondents to RFQs know that municipalities do not need to change their favorite vendor even if significant savings &/or service improvements are provided. Numerous bills have been proposed in the last several legislature sessions regarding solid waste & recycling all with at least one stated primary goal as being to provide cost savings to cities & towns.  This bill is one that actually does that immediately.

The why now of this bill is that their are many Solid Waste/Recycling vendors available to all municipalities thus providing the opportunity for both cost savings & alternatives. This was not the case 25-yrs ago when many towns handled such services themselves necessitating an exemption from public procurement .  Further while the recycling industry is undergoing significant changes & dependent on volatile commodity markets, contract protections & flexibility are already provided for under the Chapter 30B procurement law in Section 13A.