You should only renew your contract if you meet both of the following criteria. First, your contract may be about to expire. Most hauler contracts have a length of five years, then they automatically renew for another term. Most terms are a minimum of one year, but some contracts will renew for another five year term. If you find yourself in the window of time prior to your contract renewing, you’re in luck! You have the freedom to evaluate whether there is better pricing or better service to be had.

Ensure your contract has these specifications, and you’ll maximize your savings opportunities. Want to know exactly which clauses you should include in your contract? Just give us your email address in the box below and we’ll send you a free PDF of our “Waste Contract Scorecard!”

Second, you need to know for sure that your hauler has the best available pricing. You need to know that you are receiving the best price and the best service.

In this article, we will thoroughly examine the steps to renewing your waste hauler contract with your current vendor. (Looking to get a new contract?)

To get a new waste hauler contract with your current vendor, you’ll need to:

1. Cancel your auto-renewal clause.

2. Reach out to your sales accountant.

3. Create a new contract.

In the next article, we’ll look at how to the next step of renegotiating your contract.

Carefully completing these steps will set you up for current savings and future opportunities.

Prior to Renewing a Waste Hauler Contract

Before you get a new contract with your current hauler, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I know for sure that no better pricing is available from other area haulers?

• Am I satisfied with the current vendor’s service record?

• Is the current hauler easy to work with?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, now is not the time to renew your contract! You need to know for sure that your current hauler is actually the best option for you.

Cancel your auto-renewal clause.

Cancelling this clause will give you the time you need to create a new contract. If you don’t cancel this clause, your contract will almost certainly renew with your current terms. This is likely not ideal because your current contract probably guarantees you’ll overspend on your waste expenses. Most contracts don’t have clauses that limit price hikes, or ancillary fees. And they don’t typically include service provisions and term limits of 3 years. Have these specifics ensures you maximize your savings opportunities.

To make sure these clauses make it into your contract, you must cancel the auto-renewal clause so you have time to draw up a new one.

Reach out to your account manager.

You must also reach out to your account manager to let them know that you are creating a new contract with additional specifications and that you are cancelling the auto-renewal clause.

In our experience, it can be difficult to get in touch with your account manager. You may need to call the general customer service line to get in touch with them; they may not have a direct line (you may rightly be suspicious as to why that is). You will also want to follow up with an email that details what you are going to do. It is always critical to have this information in writing, so that if anything is later called into question you can point to your documentation.

Some account managers are not going to be pleased since they know your specifications will likely cut into possible profits. In the event that you encounter resistance, you may need to remind your hauler that you want to agree on a contract that is mutually beneficial - not just one sided. Assure them that they will still retain your business as long as the pricing is comparable to area service rates and quality of service remains high.

Set up a new waste contract.

In almost every contract we negotiate, we try to have the following clauses in the contract.

1. Language limiting price spikes. This is by far the biggest way you’ll save. Depending on which hauler you employ, they may agree to limiting raises in your rates to one or two a year, and capped by a certain percentage. It may require a bit of haggling, but in the long run this contract specification will can easily save you thousands of dollars at one location. Read more about contract problems and solutions here.

2. No auto renewal clause. Eradicating this clause will give you the time you need to evaluate the very best pricing and service options for your waste disposal needs. It gives you the freedom to review and change contract specifications before the same old (often expensive) stipulations automatically renew.

3. A service provision. If you’ve ever had service issues at any one of your sites, you probably understand why this clause is so critical. If your hauler fails to perform, you need an easy out of your contract.

4. Short terms. We highly recommend getting three year contract terms instead of five year terms. You need the freedom to review your market waste disposal options as frequently as possible so that you can take advantage of better pricing. Shorter terms allow you to do just that, thus saving you money.

5. Limited or eliminated ancillary clauses. There’s no law saying that fees have to appear on your invoices. We prefer to have them included in the rate since your base rates are hopefully already capped. It’s really hard for your hauler to bump up your fuel charge if your contract prohibits you from having one.