Contract for trash || Recycling (2024)

Contracted Residential Trash and Recycling Collection#

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Frequently Asked Questions#

Contracted Program Details#

Service will start September 30, 2024.

Yes.

After receiving feedback from the community about the desire for more service options, the program includes options for households with a very small amount of trash—XS cart service—and those with a large amount of trash—XL cart service. Within the contracted program, residents will be able to select from the following trash cart sizes:

• XS cart service (35 gallon cart serviced every two weeks)
• S cart service (35 gallons)
• M cart service (65 gallons)
• L cart service (95 gallons)
• XL cart service (2 x 95 gallons carts)

Recycling service will be weekly and continue to be included for no additional charge.

The program includes weekly yard trimmings collection from April 1 - November 30 each year. Residents that do not need yard trimmings collection can decline service and receive a discount on their monthly bill.

The new program also includes two eligible bulky item collections per year.

If you want to change the size of your trash container, you can contact Republic to request a change of container up to two times per year for an additional charge.

The City of Fort Collins would manage the contract with the selected hauler and provideeducation and outreach to the community.

The contracted hauler will conduct billing and provide dedicated customer service representatives for this program.

The contract term is for five years from the service start date. At the end of the contract, the City will conduct a new competitive purchasing process and may or may not switch to a different hauler.

The contracted program will include residential dwellings with seven or fewer units within Fort Collins City limits that use cart service (including single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes, mobile home communities and small apartment complexes or condos of up to seven units).

Households outside of Fort Collins City limits or in the Growth Management Area (GMA) will not be part of the contract.

Homeowners Associations (HOAs) with written contracts for trash and recycling service that were in effect before the City contract was signed on April 28, 2023 were able to apply for an exemption from the City's contract. Households in HOAs that did not apply before December 31st, 2023, or whose exemption application was denied will receive contracted services. To find out if your HOA is exempt, contact your HOA.

HOAs with written contracts for trash and recycling service that were in effect before the City contract was signed on April 28, 2023 were able to apply for an exemption from the City's contract.

Households in HOAs that did not apply before December 31st, 2023, or whose exemption application was denied will receive contracted services. To find out if your HOA is exempt, contact your HOA.

HOAs with contracted collection service will need to match the same level of yard trimmings collection as the City’s contract provides (including yard trimmings service automatically for residents, but residents may decline the service) by September 30, 2024.

To maintain exemption, HOAs must submit a copy of their contract for trash and recycling service for review by City officials every time it is changed or updated. Contracts must comply with the City’s waste and recycling Code requirements, including Pay-As-You-Throw, to maintain exemption from the contacted program.

Apartment or condo complexes with seven or fewer units per building will be included in the contracted program if they are served by trash carts (and not dumpsters). Multi-unit residential properties with eight or more units per building will not be included in the contracted system but can choose to opt-in by contacting the hauler and requesting service.

Colorado State Law prevents local governments from requiring contracts for trash services for multi-unit or commercial properties, so apartments or condos with eight or more units, businesses, and construction sites would not be part of a contracted system.

Mobile home parks in which every unit has their own cart would be included in the contracted collection program. Mobile home parks that use a dumpster are not part of the contracted collection program.

Householdswillstill be able tohire their own company for waste hauling services even if theCityhas a contracted systembutwillneed to payan opt-out feeof$11.10/per month.

The opt-out fee provides a baseline of predictable revenue for the contracted hauler, allowing for acost-effective price for thecontracted service.

Yes, all households included in the program that do not opt-out will receive new, city-branded trash, recycling, and yard trimmings carts.

The contract includes new, city-branded carts for all households that will receive service in the City's program for the following reasons:

• Having all new, city-owned carts prevents any company looking to submit a proposal for the City contract from having an advantage in the competitive purchasing process because of carts.
  • For instance, if one company had many carts in the community now and didn’t have to replace them, they might be able to offer a different price than other companies because they don’t have to purchase or deliver carts. To receive multiple competitive proposals and the best pricing for Fort Collins residents now and in the future, the competitive purchasing process is designed to prevent such advantages.
• It provides less change when the next contract starts.
  • Regardless of whether the City is to select a different hauler in the next competitive purchasing process, carts will remain at households. These cost savings can be passed along to residents.
• Fort Collins has received a grant from The Recycling Partnership to offset part of the new cart cost. These savings are passed through to residents and result in a $0.25 / month/household reduction in the rates, reflected in the service prices shared with the community.

Households will select their preferred trash, recycling, and yard trimmings cart sizes in the first half of 2024, and new, city-branded carts will be delivered in the fall of 2024. Haulers must collect their existing carts at no cost to residents per the current City code.

Republic will pick up the old Republic and Gallegos Sanitation carts and send them to Rehrig Pacific, a cart manufacturer that has a well-established buy-back program for carts that have reached the end of use. Rehrig has a network of recyclers that grind old carts down into a size that can be used in the manufacturing process. This circular economy model diverts old carts from the landfill and re-uses the old cart material by injecting it into the core of new carts for distribution.

The new service will begin on September 30, 2024. Until then, households will continue using the licensed hauler of their choosing.

Households wanting to start or change service before September 30, 2024, may contact Republic Services, Ram Waste / Waste Connections, or Waste Management.

In the first half of 2024, households will select their trash, recycling, and yard trimmings cart sizes for the new program and set up billing with the new hauler. New carts will be delivered in the fall to be ready for the new service start date of September 30, 2024.

Yes, the contract includes a service suspension option. Customers may suspend their service for one month or more once per calendar year. During the service suspension, the customer will be charged the XS service rate ($11.10 / month). The customer will not be charged to start or end the service suspension.

Three companies submitted proposals to the City’s competitive purchasing process: Republic Services, Sweetman Sanitation, and Waste Management.

A cross-functional assessment team of City staff and outside consultants with expertise in single-hauler contracts evaluated the proposals and interviewed the three firms.

The assessment team determined the proposal from Republic Services most closely aligned with the evaluation criteria. The City then negotiated the contract with Republic.

Services#

For a price similar to what residents pay for only trash and every-other-week recycling now, the contracted program includes weekly collection of trash and recycling, weekly seasonal yard trimmings, and two bulky item collections per year.

The program includes options for households with a very small amount of trash—XS cart service—and those with a large amount of trash—XL cart service. Residents will be able to select from the below trash cart sizes:

• XS cart service (35 gallon cart collected every two weeks)
• S cart service (35 gallons)
• M cart service (65 gallons)
• L cart service (95 gallons)
• XL cart service (2 x 95 gallons carts)

Recycling will be collected weekly and will continue to be included for no additional charge.

The program includes weekly yard trimmings collection from April 1 - November 30 each year. Households that do not need yard trimmings collection can decline the service and receive a discount on their monthly bill.

The new program will also include two eligible bulky item collections per year.

Once the new program begins on September 30, door-to-door service will be provided for no additional charge to residents with disabilities who cannot pull their carts to the curb.

To request door-to-door service due to a disability, fill out the reasonable accommodation request form and return to the City's ADA coordinator. If you need assistance filling out the form please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator via email adacoordinator@fcgov.com or by calling 970-416-4254 during office hours (Mon – Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.).

Alley services will be provided for areas where the alley is the primary service option. Haulers currently provide this service at no cost.

Benefits of weekly recycling include:

• • Anticipate recovering an additional 800-2500 tons of recyclables per year (9%-27% increase over current levels)
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste collection by ~3.8%
  • Supports the increase in recycling from online shopping and people working from home

The program includes weekly yard trimmings collection from April 1 - November 30 each year. Households can opt-out of yard trimmings collection and receive a $5 reduction on their monthly bill.

The contracted service is the most affordable way for community members to receive yard trimmings collection service. The contract will allow households to have yard trimmings collection as well as two bulky item collections per year for about the same price most households pay for only trash and recycling collection now.

Due to a lack of regional food scrap composting infrastructure, food scrap collection is not included in the contract. When infrastructure comes available, the contract could be amended to offer this service.

Pricing#

Like the current system, the contract pricing will be determined by a household’s trash cart size.The following monthly prices include weekly trash, recycling, and yard trimmings collection (from April – November) and two eligible bulky item collections/year:

• XS cart service (35 gallon cart collected every two weeks): $11.10
• S cart service (35 gallons): $ 19.10— the most commonly selected size
• M cart service (65 gallons): $ 37.10
• L cart service (95 gallons): $ 55.10
• XL cart service (2 x 95 gallons carts): $ 109.10

If a household declines yard trimmings service, their service price will be reduced by $5 per month—except for the XS cart service price, which is not reduced if it declines yard trimmings service.

When comparing the average current price for service and the contract price for service, the cost per household is expected to decrease in a contracted system due to the efficiencies of a hauler servicing every household on the street. See details in the chart below.

• The “current price” in the chart above comes from a Trash Bill Analysis of averaging the prices paid by Fort Collins residents in 2022, which showed inconsistencies in prices paid under the current system. Some residents pay $10-$15 more for the same service from the same company in the same area of town. The program will give all residents access to the same cost-effective rates for service.
  • Individual household bills in the current system may differ from the charges below.
• With the addition of yard trimmings and bulky item collections, more Fort Collins households may be able to decrease the size of their trash carts and save on their monthly bill.

Billing will be conducted by the hauler using their billing system. Households will select their trash, recycling, and yard trimmings cart sizes in the first half of 2024 and set up billing with the hauler in mid-year to be ready for the service start date of September 30, 2024.

Whencomparing the current price for service and the contract price for service, the contracted service price is lower than the average service pricepaid by residents now.

• In the contracted program, price increases will only be allowed in certain circumstances and will be predictable and communicated well in advance of any change.
  • The contract includes a predictable 3% yearly price increase that will be communicated well in advance. Additional price increases will only be allowed in very restricted circumstances (such as new regulations impacting the hauling industry) and must be approved by and negotiated with the City.
• Residents pay different prices for the same service in the current system.
  • ATrash Bill Analysis of prices paid by Fort Collins residentsin 2022 showed a wide variation in prices paid under the current licensed, open-market system. Some residents paid $10-$15 more for the same service from the same company in the same area of town. The contracted program will give all residents access to the same cost-effective rates for service.
• Residents have little control over pricing in the current system.
  • In the current system, each household negotiates its price with its hauler. If they dislike the price offered, the primary option is to select another company, which may or may not offer a better price.

ATrash Bill Analysisof prices paid by Fort Collins residentsin 2022showed a widevariationinprices paidunder thecurrentlicensed, open-market system.Some residents paid $10-$15 more for the same service from the same company in the same area of town. The contracted program will give all residents access to the same cost-effective rates for service.

Municipalities in Colorado can legally charge an opt-out fee to anyone who wishes to use a different hauler than the awarded contractor or who wishes to haul their own trash and recycling to the appropriate facilities.

The opt-out fee provides a baseline of predictable revenue for the contracted hauler, allowing for a cost-effective price for the contracted service.

Exceptions: A household may request a variance from the program that will exempt them from contracted services and the opt-out fee. There are two cases in which a household may be granted a variance:

1) Shared Service Variance: Two residences agree to share XS cart service. One residence receives a variance to the program. The other residence receives and is billed for XS cart service, and the two residences decide how to split the cost between themselves.Note: the XS cart service includes a 35-gallon trash container collected every two weeks, weekly recycling collection, and seasonal weekly yard trimmings collection.

2) Excess Waste Variance: Residence regularly generates more trash than the XL (two 95-gallon carts) cart service can accommodate. In this case, the residence receiving the variance could contract dumpster service with the provider of their choosing or haul their own trash and recycling to the appropriate facilities.

The prices for the contracted service include a $1.35 monthly City Administrative Fee to recover the City’s cost of administering the contract (including program roll-out, program management, contract compliance, and customer service). More information on this fee can be found in the Solid Waste Collection ProgramAdministrative Fee Study.

Customer Service#

In Fort Collins’ current open market system, customer service is unregulated.

In the contracted program, the hauler will be held to high customer service requirements.

The hauler will face financial penalties if they do not meet metrics such as responding to customers within one business day or if hold times exceed three minutes.

They must also maintain dedicated customer service representatives focused on the Fort Collins program.

If residents experience issues such as not having their carts not delivered within five business days or not having a missed collection picked up within one business day of being reported, they will receive a one-month service credit and the hauler would have to pay an additional penalty.

If issues become persistent, the City could exit the contract.

Contracted System Overview#

In a contracted system, haulers compete for the chance to provide service to all single-family, duplex, and small multifamily homes (with seven or fewer units) in a neighborhood. The contract provides the city the option to obtain curbside collection services at “bulk rate” prices for households. Households that want to use a different hauler can pay an opt-out fee. Communities in Colorado and across the U.S. have found that this type of system reduces the number of trucks in residential neighborhoods, makes prices more consistent, and increases opportunities for recycling and composting.

In addition to a contracted system, there are three other systems cities can use to manage trash and recycling collections for households.

• Pure Open Market: Each household chooses their own hauler for trash and recycling collection. Local government does not play a role in this system.
• Open Market with Licensing (Fort Collins’ current system): Each household chooses their own licensed hauler for trash and recycling collection. The local government issues the licenses and may include requirements such as offering recycling and compost collection.
• Contracted System (system Fort Collins is moving to): A local government contracts with one or more companies to provide residential trash and recycling collection.
• City Hauling Utility: A city owns and operates their own hauling utility using city staff, resources and equipment.

Fort Collins is moving to a contracted system for residential trash and recycling collection to increase opportunities for composting and recycling, provide equitable, consistent pricing across the community, and increase safety and reduce emissions by reducing the number of trash trucks on residential streets.

For a price similar to what residents paid for only trash and every-other-week recycling in 2023, the new program includes weekly trash and recycling collection and two additional services: weekly, seasonal yard trimmings collection and two bulky item collections per year.

The project to explore moving to a contracted system began in early 2022, when City staff engaged with community members to understand their goals and risks to avoid in a contracted system and City Council’s goals in a project.

City staff incorporated that feedback, andstaff and outside consultantsconducted a competitive purchasing process in mid to late 2022. Waste Management, Republic Services, and Sweetman Sanitation submitted proposals. After reviewing each proposal, City staff moved forward with negotiations withRepublic Servicesas their proposal most closely aligned with the evaluation criteria.City staff then shared the contract with community members and engaged about the contract prior to the Council voting to adopt the contract in late February 2023.

Materials for each City Council meeting on this topic can be found below:

• April 12, 2022 work session: What is contracted residential hauling, how it is different from a licensed open market, and initial feedback received from the community
  • Written materials
    
  • Meeting recording
• July 12, 2022 work session: Discussion of contracted residential hauling program elements
  • Written materials
  • Meeting recording
• July 19, 2022 regular session: Resolution directing the design and issuance of a Request for Proposals for contracted residential hauling
  • Written materials
  • Meeting recording
• February 21, 2023 regular session: First reading of contract approval
  • Written materials (agenda item #15)
  • Meeting recording
  • (opens in new tab)
• March 7, 2023 regular session: Second reading of contract approval
  • Written materials (agenda item #3)
  • Meeting recording

Read the Current Contract for Residential Solid Waste Collection Services.

• Fewer trucks on the road and only one service day per week per neighborhood
  • Increases safety, improves air quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from fewer trucks operating in neighborhoods.
• More services for a similar price
  • For a pricesimilar towhat residents paid for only trash and every-other-week recycling in 2023, the contracted hauling program includes weekly trash and recycling collection while adding weekly seasonal yard trimmings and two bulky item collections per year.
  • The contracted program is the most affordable way to add yard trimmings collection service for community members.
  • Low-income residents identified the cost of bulky item disposal as a barrier in the current open market licensed hauling system. The contracted program addresses that need by providing $70-$80 worth of bulky item collection for each household each year for no additional charge.
• Uniform, predictable pricing
  • All community members will have access to the same service price for the same services. Price increases are only allowed in certain circumstances and will be predictable and communicated well before any change.
  • A lot of prices paid by Fort Collins residentsin 2022showed a widevariationin prices paidunder thecurrentlicensed, open-market system.Some residents paid $10-$15 more for the same service from the same company in the same area of town. The contracted program gives all residents access to the same cost-effective rates for service.
• Customer Service standards
  • In the open market system, the City cannot regulate customer service from haulers. The contracted program will hold the hauler to high customer service requirements.
  • The hauler will face financial penalties if they do not meet metrics such as responding to customers within one business day or if hold times exceed three minutes.
  • The hauler must also maintain dedicated customer service representatives focused on the Fort Collins program.
  • If residents experience issues such as not having their carts delivered within five business days or not having missed collections picked up within one business day of being reported, the customer will receive a one-month service credit and the hauler will have to pay an additional penalty.
  • If issues become consistent, the City could exit the contract with the hauler.
  • The City will devote resources specifically to enforcing the contract requirements.

Moving to a contracted system is the most affordable way for Fort Collins households to progress on zero waste goals and addresses feedback community members have shared with City Council about frustration with multiple trash companies servicing the same neighborhoods.

The contracted programis the most affordable way toenable actions critical to meeting Fort Collins’ adopted goal to produce zero waste by 2030.

Fort Collins has identified a stagnant residential trash diversion rate as one of the challenges to progress on that goal.Fort Collins's 2021Residential Diversionrate was 29%, and the Community Diversion Rate (combining residential, commercial, and industrial materials) was 52%.

Contractedresidentialtrash and recyclingcollectionaligns with several adopted plans and other Council priorities. Those plans include:

• Big Move 2: Zero Waste Neighborhoods
• Principle ENV 5: Create a Zero Waste System
• Environmental Health 4.3 Zero Waste

Contracting for single-family home trash, recycling, and compostsupports

• Accelerate Composting:
  • The proposed program wouldenable a 78% - 130% increase in yard trimmingscomposted fromFort Collinsresidents.
  • Composting is a critical path for meeting climate goals.
  • Food scraps can be addressed in a contractamendmentin the future as theoptionsforfood waste compostinginfrastructurebecomes clearer.
• Improve Air Quality:fewer trucks driving along residential roads reduces related air emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Enhanced Recycling Education:The proposed programwouldinclude educational requirements in a contract for residential trash, recycling and compost service. It would also ensure all residents could have access to the same educational resources and programsand manywould be provided in Spanish.

The contract for one trash and recycling service provider will decrease the number of heavy trash and recycling trucks on residential roads. A trash truck causes wear and tear on a residential road equivalent to over 1250 passenger vehicles, so multiple haulers operating on a street significantly increase road maintenance costs.

The contract will provide uniform and transparent pricing for households, set customer service requirements for the waste hauling company, and increase the ability for the City to offer services that reduce waste, like yard trimmings and bulky item collection, for about the same price as households pay for trash and every-other-week recycling only now.

The contracted service only represents 20% of the market share in Fort Collins. Other haulers will remain active in the community and region.

• The contract impacts approximately 20% of the Fort Collins trash and recycling market share by revenue. The remaining 80% (Homeowner’s Associations with contracts for trash and recycling service, Construction and Demolition Sites, and Multi-Family and Commercial service) will continue to be under the open market and would provide opportunities for multiple hauling companies to remain active in the community.
• At the end of the five-year term of the current contract, the City will run a new competitive purchasing process. Other Colorado communities with contracts have received multiple competitive proposals each time they engage in a new round of the competitive purchasing process. Based on the proposals received, Fort Collins could then change service providers or stay with the same hauler.
• The contract includes strict requirements for customer service and high-quality service. If residents experience issues such as not having their carts delivered within five business days or not having missed collections picked up within one business day of being reported, they will receive a one-month service credit and the hauler will also face financial penalties. If issues become persistent, the City could exit the contract.

The same hauler will service all eligible households within City limits in a single district.

More than 70% of U.S. cities use either a contracted system or municipal hauling utility. On the Front Range, more than 10 cities have a contracted system for trash and recycling including Commerce City, Dacono, Edgewater, Frederick, Greenwood Village, Golden, Lafayette, Lone Tree, Louisville, Morrison, and Sheridan.