Dive Brief:

• Springfield, IL officials are considering paring back the number of waste haulers that are serving the city from five to just one. Currently, the city is served by waste haulers Rumpke, Waste Management, H.W. Mann and Sons, Vince Refuse, and First Choice Disposal.
• Karen Duncan, a Springfield city commissioner, would like to reconsider having so many waste haulers since all of the trucks they use are wearing down streets that already need repair. "There’s no question statistically from anything you read about recycling, it’s easier for people to recycle with a single hauler," she said.
• Other commissioners disagreed with Duncan’s argument. People want choices, which is why the city has five waste haulers, commissioner Kevin O’Neal said. "It’s not broken and I don’t think we need to fix it," he said.

Dive Insight:

A decision by commissioners to decrease the number of haulers serving the city would have to be OK’d by voters, who would need to change the city charter to accomplish that goal. But merely raising the question of why the city needs five haulers makes sense.