Council discusses draft RFP for new trash contract

Jefferson City officials are preparing for new proposals on the city's solid waste contract and city staff hopes to issue a request for proposals in the next few weeks.

At a work session Monday, council members were presented with a draft request for proposals, or RFP, for solid waste services and an overview of what's being asked of bidding companies. Janice McMillan, director of Planning and Protective Services, said the draft RFP offers two scenarios - one for organized collection and an exclusive contract, as currently provided by Allied Waste, and another for open market services for businesses.

The open market consideration stems from input from many local business owners, including a list of 38 businesses known as the Jefferson City Commercial Trash Alliance, which supports an open market for trash services to allow businesses to negotiate their own contracts.

In November 2009, the city entered into a six-year contract with Allied Waste for exclusive service to city residents. Though several companies had expressed an interest in bidding on the service, Allied was the only bid received by the city. An ordinance passed earlier that year made the service mandatory, and not subscribing to it is a violation of city code.

Several solid waste contractors were present at Monday's work session, with a representative of one company, WCA Waste Corporation out of Springfield, saying they are extremely interested in pursuing the RFP.

A representative of Bluebird Composting, out of Fulton, also asked the city to allow the regional composting company to pick up food waste from restaurants and grocery stores to further extend the life of the local landfill. McMillan said that would require a revision to city code.

The current contract with Allied Waste ends Oct. 15 and city staff has been working for the past few months to put together a new scope of services and a request for proposals. McMillan indicated she would take all input from Monday's work session and revise the current draft of the RFP to bring back to the council for further discussion.

Once the council approves the RFP, staff will begin the process of meeting with bidders and reviewing proposals before making a recommendation to the council. Because of the current contract's expiration date, McMillan said she hoped to have a recommendation to bring to the council no later than Sept. 8, though that date is dependent on when the final RFP is issued.

To see a draft of the solid waste RFP, visit the Planning and Protective Services Department web page on the city's website at www.jeffcitymo.org/pps/pps.html.