REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLABLES COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL SERVICES

 

Recommendation:

That the City Council approve the RFP for Solid Waste and Recyclables Collection, Processing and Disposal Services, and direct staff to return with a recommendation following receipt of the proposals.

 

Background:

The City Council, in renewing the second term of the City’s agreement with BFI Inc. in 1996, directed that staff develop a proposal for a competitive process for the awarding of any future contracts for the solid waste and recyclable franchise. As you know, the City has had a contract with BFI Inc. for over 10 years. The franchise is an "exclusive", meaning that they are the only haulers permitted to remove solid waste from the City. The franchise covers both residential and commercial services. This approach has served the City well and it is continued in the RFP. The present agreement under the franchise expires on June 30, 2001. It may need to be extended to allow time for the proposals to be evaluated and approved by the City Council. The agreement with BFI Inc. provides for such extensions.

The services detailed in the RFP, generally, are the same as we now have with some enhancements that are designed to increase the ability of our residents and businesses to increase their recycling effort. This is accomplished by providing a larger recycling container, allowing for additional items to be included in the recycling program, a green waste program, and a hazardous waste drop off point available to our residents. The RFP continues the bulky item pick-up on a call-in basis to allow residents to get rid of items that do fit into the normal collection operation. A higher level of public education, reporting, customer service, performance reviews, and commercial recycling are called for in the RFP. The proposed term for the agreement is 7 years.

The RFP provides the opportunity to move to automated services, which means the company would provide containers which are used with the automated trucks. This is one of the trends in the industry and one that we ought to look at to determine if it one that we would like to have in Hermosa Beach. The automated system generally reduces the number of cans that residential customers have to put out. The most common can used by residential customers is between 33 and 35 gallons. The automated can could be either 33, 66, or 96 gallons depending on the need of the customer. The number of cans is reduced and the storage of the cans should be less difficult. This will also allow the additional storage space for the larger recycle can in the trash enclosures and garages. The automated system uses carts that have lids and wheels and have been well accepted in other communities.

The companies responding to RFP would have to develop the operational plan for the implementation of the automated system and the City would have to approve it. These details are spelled out in the agreement. The operational plan would spell out how they would deal with narrow streets, sweeping days, parking restrictions and multifamily buildings. The RFP can be modified to obtain costs for a manual system so that the comparison in terms of cost is known.

The agreement provides for rate adjustments on an annual basis once the initial period is over. This would mean that the rates could be adjusted up to 3% annually based on the change in the CPI. The rates would be effective on January 1 ^st if the company requested a rate increase and the CPI indicated a higher cost. Amounts over a 3% increase would have to be based on actual costs and approved by the City Council. Additional rate adjustments are provided for if they could show a need and would have to be approved by the City Council after a review of the cost information and the reason for the increase. An example of this kind of increase might be a rate increase in the landfill charges. In such a case, the landfill component of the overall cost of the operation would be determined and reviewed in relationship to the customer rates for service.

 

The Process:

The RFP, following approval by the City Council, will be sent out to solid waste companies. Several have indicated their interest in providing services to the City. The proposals will be reviewed and a recommendation developed for City Council approval on the most responsive proposal. Staff will negotiate an agreement with this company which will be approved by the City Council.

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