BIDDEFORD — Biddeford residents could soon benefit from the curbside collection of unused food waste.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a recommendation by the Solid Waste Management Commission to pursue an exclusive agreement with a qualified vendor to collect, transport and compost food wastes from residential properties within the city.

“The idea is to drive as much food and organic waste away from the trash, which obviously results in less tipping fees,” said Public Works Director Guy Casavant.

Casavant said some city residents are able to have their compostable food waste picked up if they live in proximity to industrial businesses that also subscribe to the service. However, the option has not been made available across the community .

A request for proposals for a vendor will now be drafted. If a vendor is selected, residents who want to have their food waste collected will have the option to pay for curbside pickup.

Casavant said similar programs in neighboring municipalities cost around $80 per household. The program will not be made mandatory, he said.

The SWMC began discussing curbside compost pickup in late autumn of 2015. Three options were considered: a free-market system allowing multiple vendors to offer collection under a subscription with residents, as is somewhat offered now; an exclusive agreement with one vendor selected via a request for proposal, as was approved Tuesday; or a “do nothing” approach, in which any vendor could offer curbside collection by obtaining a solid waste transporter license.

Councilor John McCurry voiced his support for the program, and also called for increased awareness of recycling initiatives. He and the other councilors were pleased to hear that residents who opt for curbside food waste pickup would also be eligible to receive compost at their request.

“That’s one of the details of the program, but that’s a typical program,” Casavant said. “The company picks up the food waste at a given residence, they supply clean containers for collection, and the end product is made available to the subscribers. You don’t have to take it. It’s available if you want it.”

Councilor Stephen St. Cyr, while not voicing opposition to the program, questioned the commission’s reasoning behind an exclusive agreement rather than selecting a free-market approach.

Councilor Michael Ready, who serves on the commission along with Councilor Michael Swanton, said a free market system is already in place, and that it limits the accessibility of services to residents who don’t live in business-dense districts.

“It’s not available throughout the city,” Ready said. “It’s kind of a narrow bubble around businesses, but they won’t go to all different points in the city. There’s much more landscape in the city not available than there is available.”

Casavant said the commission based its options on the idea that encouraging residents to divert food away from landfills would present a cost-savings opportunity because the city would pay less money per load of waste in gate, or tipping, fees.

“I’m all in favor of this order,” said Councilor Robert Quattrone. “Common sense will tell you that organic matter decomposing is a lot heavier than plastic or paper, and getting it out of the landfill will save us a ton of money in tipping fees.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].