Automatic renewal: why your waste contract keeps going

The clause usually sits in the section called Term. It names an initial term that starts when service starts, then says the agreement renews for a further period unless either party gives notice. Republic Services' published terms leave the initial term as a blank to fill in, then renew for 12 months at a time unless either party gives written notice of termination at least 30 days before the end of the current term.^[1] WM's published commercial terms renew automatically at the end of the term, and set a notice window of 90 to 180 days before the end of any term of 12 months or more.^[2]

Three things decide how hard the clause is to live with: how long each renewal runs, how much notice it takes to stop it, and whether notice outside the window counts at all.

Because it is the clause that decides when you can leave without paying to leave. Outside the notice window, ending the agreement usually means paying liquidated damages (see the liquidated damages clause). Inside it, you can rebid the service, move to another hauler or renegotiate with the one you have, at no exit cost.

It also decides what you renew into. WM's terms renew at the current service levels and charges, so whatever increases were added during the term carry into the next one.^[2]

In a few places, yes. Maine's statute on small-container contracts (2 to 10 cubic yard dumpsters) requires the hauler to mail the customer a reminder 60 to 90 days before the termination date, lets the customer answer within 60 days of receiving it by any reasonable method, including email, and bars contract terms that demand notice earlier than that.^[3] The City of Sacramento requires franchised haulers' commercial agreements to limit automatic renewals to one year, ended by written notice at least 30 days before the term ends.^[4]

The US Department of Justice has also required haulers to offer shorter terms and more flexible renewal notice as a condition of settling antitrust cases. In 2004 Republic Services agreed to a $1.5 million civil penalty over contracts in two areas that the government said were less favorable to customers than a 2000 consent decree allowed.^[5] Those decrees applied to specific markets; they are not a national rule. See state and local rules.

• A renewal term of 12 months or less, or month-to-month after the initial term.
• A written reminder from the hauler before each renewal, as Maine and Sacramento require.
• Notice by email to a named address, effective on sending.
• Renewal at the rates in force at signing, or with a stated cap, rather than at whatever the invoice shows.

Use the buyer's contract rider for wording, and the renewal window calculator to find your dates.