The assembly has approved a five-year contract with Tideline Construction to serve as the exclusive hauler and disposer of scrap metal from the municipal solid waste transfer station, saving the borough an estimated $14,000 a year.

Tideline operates its scrap metal recycling operation from the former mill site at 6-Mile and has been barging old cars and trucks and scrap metal off the island the past several years.

The contract, which was approved by the assembly Sept. 23, sets out terms to formalize work the company has handled over the past year, officials said. Tideland trucks scrap metal to its staging site at 6-Mile. The company runs a barge, picking up scrap metal from throughout Southeast to deliver it to recycling operations.

Public Works Director Tom Wetor said Tideline initially stepped in because it was already handling much of the scrap metal in town.

Under the new agreement, the company will remove all accumulated scrap metal from the transfer station at least once a month March through August, and will handle loading, securing and transporting the material off the island. It will charge $175 an hour for hauling.

Wetor framed the deal as a practical solution that reduces costs and improves efficiency.

“This is essentially a win-win,” he said. “In the past five years, what the borough has budgeted for the scrap removal ranged anywhere from $22,000 to $28,000. And we don’t have the machinery to crunch the metal down small enough to pack good loads into the containers. Tideline does.”

Wetor said Tideline’s equipment allows the company to process metal faster and more efficiently, which can increase the value recovered from recycling. By contrast, he said, the borough sometimes received little or no return once expenses were factored in.

“The main area where Tideline benefits compared to the borough is logistically,” he said. “Shipping costs continue to go up, and there was never any guarantee the borough would have the right kind of scrap that would get us enough money back. Logistically, Tideline is able to handle the removal more easily than the borough can.”

Wetor estimated the arrangement will save the borough at least $14,000, with the potential for more depending on volume and transportation costs.

“By the time you factor in the rising costs of shipping and everything — depending on how much needs to be hauled away — we could be saving more than that,” he said. “We try to get the community the best deal we can.”