7 Clauses a Good Waste Contract Has
Changes are, you already have a waste contract.
But is it a good one?
We save our clients at least 20% on their waste bills by making sure their contracts are excellent.
Let’s look at 10 things a good waste contract has:
Language to limit costs
An open ended future
Recourse for poor/missed service
Precise contract terms
Reduced ancillary fees
Precise service levels
A waste ally!
1. Language to limit costs
In order to successfully prevent waste haulers from implementing ridiculous price spikes, the contract should specifically include terms that need to be met in order to raise any prices. Like any other business, costs do go up, but not exponentially. Limiting increases is vital to maintaining a good and healthy contract with your waste hauler. Establishing a cap to waste costs is another way to ensure that you are not being taken advantage of. We at Waste Consultants will ensure that your contract ensures fair estimates for your waste disposal.
2. An open ended future
Many contracts we come across are almost impossible to cancel. The haulers ensure that whatever contract they have you in will benefit them in the long run. Thankfully, there are simple ways to avoid this. To keep your contract negotiable and open-ended, eliminating the auto-renewal of your contract is essential. As time goes on, you will be able to cater your waste hauler’s services, or even your specific waste hauler, to the needs of your business. As businesses are ever expanding, don’t get stuck with an outdated and ineffective contract.
3. Recourse for poor/missed service
As a business owner, the way your property looks is an incredibly important aesthetic. Without proper service, dumpsters can fill up, and trash can even overflow. In order to avoid this, a good contract needs to include recourse for poor service, or lack of service at all! This holds your waste hauler accountable and will prevent any corners from being cut on their end. A good contract leads to good service which leads to a well maintained property. We at Waste Consultants have proven experience in holding haulers accountable for their waste disposal services.
4. Precise contract terms
The average contract date for waste disposal is 5 years. As any business knows, 5 years is a long time for things to happen and change. Waste needs are no different in the way they continually adapt to your business. We recommend limiting the term of your waste contract to 3 years. This allows for more points of analysis and a higher frequency of contract review. One of the ways we benefit our clients is by scheduling changes to waste contracts at the time of their expiration. By the time that your contract is up, we have already assessed the contract and found the elements that need to be changed to maximize your savings.
5. Reduced Ancillary fees
Fees are a big element of waste contracts. If there is a way to charge you money, the waste hauler has considered and charged for it. Some common ways that contracts allow for fees is through things like: How much trash is in your container? Too much? Too little? Did they spend gas to get to your location? (of course they did!) Is your equipment going to be replaced? Can we charge you miscellaneous fees to cover other regions? Each of these questions, plus many more, usually result in additional fees added to your waste disposal bill. Part of our job is analyzing which fees are necessary and distinguishing them from fees that they have no business charging you for! Even if you are stuck in the middle of a contract, come the end of it, we will eliminate many of the ancillary fees found in your contract.
6. Precise service levels
Frequency, frequency, frequency. Different companies put out various amounts of waste. Because of this, the timing of waste pick up is not a one-size-fits-all solution! Structuring your contract to create optimal pickup times (even different frequencies at different locations) is key to minimizing waste spend. Through optimization of collection visits, you can avoid various fees associated with the amount of waste in containers, the weight of the waste, and many other variables that waste haulers take advantage of.
7. A Waste Ally!
Many businesses find that they don’t have an adequate amount of time to devote to their waste contracts. It is an extensive project to analyze and adapt a waste contract to the specific needs of a business. That’s where we come in. We have proven experience in reducing waste expenses by 20-40% throughout our customer base. With a free audit, we can understand if your company has the right criteria to save money. Roughly 90% of the companies that we do work with have some amount of savings that we can find them in their contracts. We function off of a results based methodology, so we don’t get paid until you get saved from your waste contract. This ensures that you get the best results from our service.
There are many elements that go into a waste contract. Your hauler is going to try whatever they can to make the most off of your business. We ensure that your company will not be taken advantage of and will receive a fair and honest contract. Waste contracts require experience and understanding that we consider our expertise. Allow us to answer any questions you may have and start you off on a path to saving money. Feel free to contact us immediately through our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!