By Gail Geraghty

Staff Writer

Bridgton Selectmen on Tuesday approved a new hauling contract for its solid waste and recyclables with CIA Salvage of Limerick, at a cost of $242 per trip. The contract is conditional on a three-month probationary period, as the company is relatively new to the business of waste hauling.

The town had for many years contracted with Blo Brothers, which was recently acquired by Pine Tree Waste, or Casella, said Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz. Because of the ownership change, however, the company, which had been charging $215 per haul, said its costs would be going up significantly when the town’s contract expired on June 30.

Last month the town put the project out to bid, but the bids came back at between $315 and $415 per haul. Selectmen rejected those bids and went out to bid a second time, and CIA Salvage came back as the low bidder, beating out Cochoran Environmental, at $247 per haul, Waste Management, at $415 per haul, and Pine Tree Waste, at $340 per haul.

Berkowitz said Transfer Station Manager Bob Fitzcharles travelled to Limerick to inspect CIA Salvage’s operations and equipment, and found it satisfactory. Berkowitz said he also found that the company had not run into any problems with the law. But he recommended the three-month probationary period because the company has primarily operated salvage operations and is “relatively new to hauling.”