Aces' basic trash cart, 32 gallons, will be picked up for $11.30 a month - down from Amador Disposal's $13.65 for a slightly larger cart in Sutter Creek. Photo by: File photo

A debate over garbage pickup in Sutter Creek Monday yielded a new contract for Pine Grove's Aces Waste.

The trash talk and victory for a local underdog represented the end June 30 of Amador Disposal Co.'s run as refuse and recycling contractor for the city.

It also spelled a reduction in rates for residents and businesses. City council members voted 5-0 in favor of Aces Waste.

Aces' basic trash cart, 32 gallons, will be picked up for $11.30 a month - down from Amador Disposal's $13.65 for a slightly larger cart - and a 2-cubic-yard commercial trash bin will be emptied for $85.90 a month, down from $123. Other styles of service will cost less, too.

"Aces has served Amador County for 32 years," said co-owner Paul Molinelli Sr. "We're the only locally owned waste company."

Sutter Creek might lose some of the four "cleanup days" per year Amador Disposal offers. Aces, in its bid, offered one. On the other hand, Aces, at the city's discretion, could offer an ongoing 10-percent senior discount, and it offers special service for handicapped residents.

City Councilman Pat Crosby told Guy Davis of Amador Disposal he'd been happy with the company's service and complimented an offer by Davis to lock in his rate for three years.

The move to open the city waste franchise to bid was driven partly by officials' duty to increase recycling under a state mandate compelling agencies to keep landfill use down to 50 percent of a base-year amount. It will convert pickup from bags to carts because, as City Manager Rob Duke noted, the cart method has proven most effective for diverting waste from landfills. Trucks grab and empty carts automatically.

"We work on being fast," Molinelli said. "The less our driver gets out, the faster it is -- but we are providing for the handicapped. We will go in their yard (to wheel out a cart)."

"Both companies are good," said Mayor Gary Wooten.

Councilwoman Sandy Anderson said, "Aces' bid is lower, and they're locally owned."

Aces co-owner Paul Molinelli, Jr. said the offer of only a single cleanup day isn't rigid.

"We wouldn't be averse to sitting down with the the city and working on that," he said.