Getting Out of a Bad Waste Hauler Contract

You thought things with your waste hauler were going fine. It started well — they made all the promises in the world. They’d work way more efficiently than your last guys. They’ll do a higher quality job. And they’ll do it cheaper.

But then after a few months? The second thoughts slip in.

Turns out your bins are overflowing more often than they’re not. And after they do a pick-up, you find they just straight-up miss things.

And to make it all so much worse, after you add up all their extra hidden fees and the surprise price hikes, it turns out you’re paying more.

Let’s talk about putting an end to that.

What Does the Contract Say About Terminating?

The first thing you need to do is spot when you can actually get out of this thing. And unfortunately, haulers have a ton of tricks to make that difficult.

Some contracts will auto-renew earlier than you thought. You might think you’re just going to ride this thing out and cancel in the last month only to find that you’re stuck with them for another year.

Many contracts will have a fee for terminating — that could cost as much as a good deal of the rest of the term on its own. Obviously, that’s going to dissuade you from cutting ties.

Whatever the terms of termination, you’ll want to fully understand them. And you’ll want to know exactly when and how you’re able to cancel a contract.

Renegotiate or Terminate?

Absolutely don’t let an expensive termination clause alone stop you from terminating. Often, just paying the cost of that will end up paying for itself once you’re working with a better hauler (and you’ll know to try to avoid that in the first place in your next contract).

But it is worth considering if the service is worth salvaging first. If the service is actually good but the hidden fees are too much, you may be able to negotiate caps for a contract renewal if it’ll keep you as a customer.

Or, if the service is actually poor enough that you can prove they broke the terms of the contract, you may be able to get out of it after all. Document shortcomings — photos, conversations, dates, frequency of service and so on.

How to Get Help on Bad Hauler Contracts

We’ve seen them all at RecycleSmart. Good contracts, bad contracts, and contracts so awful you have to wonder how they ever got signed.

But we have a lot of success helping people renegotiate their hauler contracts. It’s a key point in reducing your overall waste management spending. Because it’s so much more flexible than many organizations realize.

Hauler contracts don’t have to be accepted as given. You’ve got space to work within.

Want a helping hand? Reach out to us and we’ll optimize your waste management from — hauler contracts to better monitoring of your bins.

Contact us here, or maybe check out some of our case studies!