Oak Ridge Hauling LLC was awarded the contract for garbage and recycling collection in the Village of Pelham by a unanimous vote Monday of the village board of trustees. Oak Ridge will begin pick ups on Dec. 6.

Oak Ridge is taking over from Waste Services Inc., which lost its county operating license in August. There will be no change in the types of services or the schedule, according to an email from Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen.

Pelham had until Dec. 6 to replace incumbent Waste Services. On Aug. 1, the Westchester Solid Waste Commission suspended the license of Waste Services. This set off a series of deadlines and extensions granted to Pelham as the commission’s decision was fought in the courts, with the final order coming down in late October that the village must find a new company by the Dec. 6 deadline.

On Oct. 21, the village requested bids from interested vendors to provide the same schedule of services as Waste Services. Pelham also requested pricing for food-waste disposal and variations on the overall package.

Two vendors submitted bids, which were opened on Nov. 8: AAA Carting Inc. and Oak Ridge. After evaluating each vendor, it was determined that AAA Carting was not a responsible bidder because it did not provide all of the required information and has been the subject of several hearings before the county solid waste commission, Mullen said.

“For nearly a year, the Village of Pelham has been navigating an almost impossible situation caused entirely by others’ actions,” Mullen said in the email. “Defending our interests in court and switching to a new provider on an abbreviated schedule has cost us—and will continue to cost us—significant time and money. It is difficult to express in writing the level of frustration this situation has caused. I am enormously grateful to our staff, our attorneys and the village board for their nimbleness and professionalism throughout. If there is any silver lining, it is this: We are optimistic that we have secured a very reputable company to provide excellent service to Pelham residents and businesses for the next two years. Oak Ridge Hauling LLC has a strong reputation, and they currently provide first-rate service to approximately 50,000 residential and 7,000 commercial customers throughout New York and Connecticut.”

In his statement, the mayor said the village would continue to explore food-waste disposal. “The bids we received were simply too high and too disruptive, given the tight schedule for compliance with the court, but we are working diligently to find opportunities to add this important service in the future.”