What should you change before signing a waste agreement?

1. Renewal term: 12 months or month-to-month after the initial term. Auto-renewal
2. Notice: one deadline (at least 30 days before the term ends), no earliest date, email to a named address, and a reminder from the hauler. Notice window
3. Price protection: fixed for 12 months, then one increase a year, capped. Price increases
4. Consent: no increase by invoice message or by paying the bill; written consent, with a free exit if you refuse. Price increases
5. Fees: an all-inclusive rate, or fees fixed in dollars, or capped percentages with the fuel table attached. Fees
6. Exit charge: capped at three months' base charges (the Maine statutory limit for small containers),^[1] none in renewal terms. Liquidated damages
7. Service failure: a right to end without charge after repeated missed pickups or an uncured written demand. WM's terms already include a version of this.^[2]
8. Exclusivity: limited to the listed services and sites; no right of first refusal. Exclusivity
9. Changes: service changes confirmed in writing; the term never restarts. Service changes
10. Extras: a dollar schedule of every extra charge, fixed for the term, with photo evidence for overage and contamination. Extra charges

When you have competing bids and time. Inside your notice window, with two or three bids on the same specification, the incumbent's standard paper becomes negotiable; three weeks before the deadline with no alternative, it isn't. Start early: see how to bid out waste service.

Use a rider: a short addendum that both sides sign, which says it overrides the standard terms where they conflict. The buyer's contract rider has wording for each of the ten edits. Check the signed service details too: the start date, the term, every container and every rate.