Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Mark Harrick, senior account executive for Waste Management in Marquette, addresses the Houghton City Council Wednesday night. The council approved a new five-year agreement for trash and recycling.

HOUGHTON — Houghton has a new trash pickup system.

The Houghton City Council unanimously approved a new five-year contract Wednesday with Waste Management for trash and single-stream recycling. Waste Management was the sole bidder for the contract.

Houghton will move away from its current bag system. Instead, residential units will be provided with separate 64-gallon carts for waste and recycling; the original draft called for 96 gallons before being reduced after further negotiations between the city and Waste Management.

Waste Management will also continue to accept pre-existing recycling carts, said senior account executive Mark Harrick.

Under the new system, the carts will be picked up and emptied mechanically. Earlier systems used by Marquette lifted the carts overhead and tipped them into the truck up top. For Houghton’s system, the arm will pick up the bins and empty them lower on the truck, minimizing pieces lost to wind.

Waste Management is pushing for automated cart systems in every new agreement nationwide, Harrick said. The new system reduces employees’ risk of injury and allows them to work for longer, Harrick said.

“If they can work a joystick and pick up garbage, they’ll hopefully work until they’re 65,” he said.

The new system will take effect June 1. City Manager Eric Waara said the date was chosen so college students would be out of town during the transition.

“The students come back, the culture’s already established over the summer, and then it’s just part of what we do,” he said.

Houghton will pay Waste Management $18.25 per month per residential unit. The fee will be adjusted annually by at least 5% — or if the Consumer Price Index is higher, up to 7%.

The city will still have to change its waste ordinance to determine how that cost is passed on to residents.

“I don’t see us being able to find some magic bullet to make it as equitable as the pay-as-you-go system we have now, but our system is kind of a dinosaur,” Waara said. “…If there’s ways we can do that, we’re certainly going to investigate them and try to figure out how to make it more equitable.”

With graduated systems, the risk is that people will find ways to exploit the system and pay less than they should, Waara said.

Councilor Craig Waddell also called for a public informational session to be held within six months to inform the public about the changes and answer any questions.

In other action, the council:

• Approved an engineering contract for the Lakeshore Drive corridor rehabilitation for U.P. Engineers & Architects. Houghton will pay UPEA $194,000 for engineering work during preliminary design, final design, bidding and negotiating and construction.

• Heard from Waara Houghton had been included on a recent Architectural Digest list of the most beautiful small towns in America. Houghton ranked eighth. Holland was the only other Michigan town on the list, coming in 55th.

• Heard from Waara the Planning Commission will host its second open house on the master plan from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the city center.

• Heard from Police Chief John Donnelly since the previous meeting, the department had taken 87 calls for service, made one felony arrest, had six civil infractions, issued four city tickets, responded to eight accidents and answered 15 calls for health and safety.

• Approved a series of change orders and engineering agreement amendments related to Michigan Department of Transportation’s extension of the construction contract for the College Avenue project. Two-way traffic is expected to resume on College Avenue by the start of November. Waara said construction should resume in early May in the Franklin Square area, lasting about five or six weeks.

A change order for the project showed savings of $45,560.72 on the work done so far. Amendments to the scope of engineering services added $18,800 to the water improvements contract and $25,800 for sewer. The money comes out of a contingency fund, Waara said.

The council also approved payments of $193,647.08 to MDOT and UPEA for water system improvements and $105,416.70 for sewer system improvements on the College Avenue project.