TORONTO — Ontario just-in-time specialist Verspeeten Cartage is getting down and dirty as it struck an agreement with the City of Toronto to haul over a million tonnes of trash to Michigan landfills.

According to the Toronto Star, the Ingersoll, Ont.-based carrier — which ranks as the 30th largest for-hire firm in Canada — has secured the job to haul the trash south of the border after Wilson Logistics backed out of its 20-year contract this month.

Ron Verspeeten told The Star that he will hire more than 100 drivers for the work — most of them from Wilson, which will dump its last load March. 31.

Verspeeten will be subcontracted to Florida-based Republic Services, which has the direct contract to manage Toronto’s trash. Republic also operates the Carleton Farms landfill in Michigan where much of Toronto’s ends up.

As Today’s Trucking has reported over the last year, Wilson was seeking a way out of the contract and threatened to “fold its tent” after becoming burdened with escalating costs like fuel, increased border security, and new hours-of-service rules, which cut down the number of runs the carrier could make in a day.

“It was evident that under the new rules, 40 percent of the trips could not be completed in one day,” Former Wilson spokesperson Gord Haugh told Today’s Trucking at the time.

The trucking company wanted the city to renegotiate the rates of the contract, but Wilson and city officials failed to reach a settlement last fall.

Sources have told TodaysTrucking.com that Wilson is close to divesting its trash hauling division. The carrier also hauls food products and has a truck-leasing arm.

The company did not return calls from TodaysTrucking.com seeking comment.

In an interview earlier this week, Toronto general manager of solid waste Richard Butts said residents would not notice any change on April 1.

To help mitigate rising costs, Toronto has set aside an extra $4.2 million for the new contract. That translates to about $60 a tonne, compared to the previous cost $55 for both transportation rates and disposal fees. Wilson’s cut from that was reportedly $33 a tonne.

Verspeeten did not tell The Star how much his company’s take is from the new deal.

— with Files from the Toronto Star
Toronto.ca