Contract Services

City of Alameda

Solid Waste Procurement

2000 - 2003

Client Needs

The City of Alameda had two agreements that were expiring - one for collection and disposal of solid waste, and a second for collection and processing of residential recyclable and yard waste materials. The City wanted to improve customer convenience and increase diversion to meet AB 939 goals and work toward the County goal of 75% diversion.

HF&H Solutions

HF&H managed the City’s competitive procurement process. We facilitated a public outreach process to solicit input from the community; prepared an RFP, franchise agreement, and disposal agreement; evaluated four proposals for collection and disposal services; assisted the City with contractor selection; and made presentations to the City Council. In addition, we facilitated negotiations of the final franchise agreement.

During the project, HF&H facilitated six meetings with the City’s Solid Waste Franchise Team (SWFT) that included: city staff from various departments, and community representatives from the business, multi-family, and residential communities. SWFT input was solicited during program and contract planning, RFP development, and contractor selection. Key collection service issues related to: curbside rather than backyard solid waste collection; weekly rather than bi-weekly residential recycling and organics collection; food waste collection; expansion of commercial recycling; and drop box exclusivity. Contract issues addressed included: the structure of the agreements; contract term; and performance-based measures to incentivize performance.

Results

• Separate 15-year disposal contract with guaranteed capacity and rate predictability;
  
• A 10-year franchise agreement that increased customer service by having one point of contact for billing and customer service needs and reduced costs $1 million annually;
  
• Enhanced diversion programs - weekly residential recycling and yard waste collection; food waste collection; minimum multi-family and commercial recycling levels; and,
  
• Established a public service mitigation fee to offset public works costs related to collection services such as street maintenance, which was estimated to generate $1 million annually.