Sole source contracting for garbage pickup

The PTC City Council recently voted 4-1 against having a sole source garbage pick-up contract. Only the Mayor voted for it. The sole source provider had a quarterly fee with 3 choices- $63 (trash and weekly recycling); $75 (adding on yard waste, bi-weekly); and $86 (adding on bulk item pickup). This is detailed in a Citizen column (https://thecitizen.com/2026/07/13/peachtree-city-council-talks-trash-one-hauler-proposal-could-add-yard-waste-pickup/ )

A decade ago, I was a County Commission Chairman in another Georgia county. After a bidding process with exact criteria listed in an RFP going out to many firms, we did a “sole source” contract for garbage pick-up. The price went down and service improved because we were a larger client. It should here as well if the cities and county went this same direction, combining their volume in a group purchase to get a better price (for example, companies prefer 100,000+ customers county wide to just 35,000 in Peachtree City).
PTC is facing this issue right now, so I will use them as an example. I’m aware that many PTC citizens want the ability to choose their own garbage service company. However, they may not be fully aware of how group purchasing works.
As someone who spent decades in the field, working as a VP and SVP for corporations purchasing billions annually, I feel compelled to give PTC and county taxpayers a very short course in group purchasing.
• Sole-source contracts are not necessarily good. Neither are they always bad.
• Multi-source contracts are not necessarily good. Neither are they always bad.
There, now you know the basics. Seriously, it just depends on your goals: price, service, and quality.
For example, decades ago the Pediatric Association of Kentucky asked me to set up group purchasing vaccine contracts for their 700 MDs. Via a sole source contract, we cut prices 10 to 20 percent versus what they could get on their own. Use of the contract was voluntary, but why not use it?
The answer to why not use it may be complex depending on the service/product. Service and quality must be factored in for vendors. For a commodity like vaccine, there really is not a difference (although if a vendor is taking the Doc to the Super Bowl every year… the Doc may think otherwise).
For garbage pickup, there certainly is a service component that must be considered. However, my assumption is that all of the current providers in PTC are roughly equal or at least acceptable or their services would have already been terminated by residents ( note- I terminated use of one provider due to poor service). FYI- under a sole source contract, the City would actually have a lot of clout that an individual does not have. Vendors care about losing big customers, so they are more responsive. 
So, we have price. By using a sole source contract, PTC can and should definitely get a less expensive price than individuals doing it on their own. PTC can also definitely get a lower price with a sole source contract versus having several vendors simply due to increased volume. And, if they can get the County to join in contracting, the price can be brought down even more.
To sum up, in the case of PTC’s garbage pick-up, there’s potential savings to be made via a sole-source contract. The question that I have is “how do the above prices compare to what a resident can get on their own?” I am currently paying $63 for a garbage service provider that has excellent weekly trash service. I am all for having a sole source contract if there would be a benefit for myself and the City. But from what I can see, the price has not gone down. Service will be exactly what it is now, although a resident could add yard waste and bulk item pickup by paying more. So, are these benefits (yard waste and bulk item pickup) enough to justify a sole source contract? Probably not
Furthermore, if Peachtree City, Fayetteville, and the County did a sole-source group contract, savings should be enhanced via a lower basic trash pick-up fee. Then, there might be a financial benefit. Isn’t it time we all work together rather than in silos?