Halifax County commissioners tonight agreed to part ways with Waste Industries as its trash collection company and will negotiate a contract with a Charlotte firm that submitted the lowest bid.

The board also accepted the low bid of a Belhaven company to haul its trash to the East Carolina Regional Landfill in Bertie County.

The two moves — agreeing to negotiate a contract with the Bowen Company for hauling and Unity Disposal and Recycling of Carolinas for trash collection — are both to prepare for the opening of the county’s new transfer station the first of July.

Bowen submitted a low bid of $291.50 per load with a fuel base of $4.

Unity, which began in Maryland, and will have an office in Halifax County, submitted a low bid of $6.50 per cart and $2.90 per recycling container should the county opt to start a recycling program.

The cost of the Bowen contract is estimated to be $279,443 per year. The five-year Unity contract is expected to be $1,700,603 per year, according to information contained in this evening’s agenda packet.

Waste Industries submitted the second lowest bid for trash collection, Public Utilities Director Gwen Matthews told the board.

On Friday Waste Industries came to her requesting its contract be extended and adjusted its collection rate to $6 per cart and included a recycling option.

Unity is a smaller company, Matthews said, with three owners and has ties to Halifax County through Montre Freeman who is a partner in the firm.

County Attorney Glynn Rollins said the Waste Industries contract ends June 30. He said the board had the right to accept either the Waste Industries or Unity contract. “This is the first time I’ve seen this happen.”

Commissioner Marcelle Smith, who made the motion to accept Unity, said the county had been working on striking a new contract with Waste Industries for years. “It was almost a stalemate. After all we’ve gone through they come in at the final hour.”