BEND, OR -- Bend Garbage Company is in contract negotiations to sell to Arizona-based Republic Services, one of the largest waste management companies in the country. Bend Garbage President Brad Bailey says the transition should be complete by the end of March, "A lot of effort and work has gone into this to make it a seamless process for the community. It was super important to us that we didn't disrupt service to our customers."

The Bailey family bought the company in 1985. It's since grown from 12 employees to 112 at its three subsidiaries: Bend Garbage & Recycling, High Country Disposal and Deschutes Recycling. Bailey says it's now time to retire, but changes coming to Deschutes County's landfill also contributed to his decision. Deschutes Recycling is located at the Knott Landfill, which is said to have an estimated 10 years of space left for trash. Bailey tells KBND News, "I've sat on the Solid Waste Advisory Committee as they've discussed options, and I think the county's done a really good job looking at all the different scenarios. If they could develop another site similar to Knott somewhere in the county and keep it in close to the communities that would need to use it, that would be their best option."

Bailey says his family sought out Republic Services partly because the companies share similar philosophies, "For our employees, it was top of concern for us that we pass them on to a company that shares our values on how they take care of our employees." He adds, "Republic is asking for everybody to come over to their company because they really need everybody to continue to do what we do well. So we're super pleased about that; it stays intact, and that was important for us."

Republic Services is a publicly traded company (NYSE: RSG) with 340 collection operations, 201 transfer stations, 195 active landfills, 90 recycling centers, seven treatment, recovery and disposal facilities, 12 saltwater disposal wells and 68 landfill gas and renewable energy projects across 40 states and Puerto Rico, according to its website. They currently serve several Oregon communities. 

Bend Garbage & Recycling and High Country Disposal provide waste management, recycling, and hauling services in Bend, Redmond and Sisters. Deschutes Recycling is a recycling depot and compost facility located at Knott Landfill in Bend.