Burnet selects new waste, recycling service provider
Burnet City Council chambers. Staff photo by Caden Senn
A new waste management provider could be cleaning the streets of Burnet in November after City Council approved the selection of Texas Disposal Systems from a group of five contractors during a June 9 meeting.
Though city officials still need to negotiate a contract to be approved by council at a later date, new services should begin on Nov. 1, 2026.
City Manager David Vaughn shared a look at TDS’s proposed services during the council meeting, noting the possibility of weekly curbside bulk pickup that would replace the city’s monthly bulk-tossing event, Chunk Your Junk.
“That cost, for us to do (Chunk Your Junk), has risen tremendously from when we started it,” he said. “We’re spending about $55,000 a year. TDS was willing to offer 2 yards at the curb, every week.”
Vaughn added that the city would also kickstart a new monthly Bring Your Brush event to handle residents’ leftover leafy limbs, branches, and clippings.
The city’s selection of a new waste contractor is part of a routine process to ensure “the best quality of service available to the community,” using proposals from prospective contractors. The city’s current contractor, Al Clawson Disposal, Inc., did not submit a proposal.
A closer look at TDS’s proposal for services is as follows.
- Offer commercial recycling dumpsters
- Offer 2-yard and 10-yard trash dumpsters
- Weekly curbside bulk pickup of up to 2 cubic yards or 1 bulky item a week
- Contract term of 10 years
- Annual rate increase of 3.56 percent
For more information on current waste management services, visit the Burnet sanitation webpage.