PORTAGE, MI — Portage residents are pushing back against a controversial contract for trash pickup in the city.

If organizers can collect 4,000 signatures to “take back the trash” before Dec. 20, the issue will go to a vote in May 2026, just two months after the single-hauler ordinance takes effect.

In July, the city council voted unanimously selected Waste Management to serve as Portage’s sole trash hauler.

The city received proposals from four companies, City Manager Pat McGinnis said. Officials interviewed the three currently operating in Portage: Best Way Disposal, Waste Management and Republic Services.

“I was praying that they would be close,” McGinnis said. “And they weren’t even close.”

It chose Waste Management, the least expensive option. Waste Management proposed a trash pi

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