EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 10, 2019 Page 3
Solid Waste Collections Facts And Figures:
What El Segundo Residents Need To Know
January 15, 2019 City Council Meeting
The City understands there are many questions regarding the selection of the
next residential trash hauler and type of service that the City Council will be considering
on January 15th, 2019. The City is providing the following to address the
questions and concerns of the community.
If have any questions that are not answered below, please contact Jasmine Allen
in the Public Works Department at 310-524-2365 or jallen@elsegundo.org.
PROJECT HISTORY
At the July 17, 2018 meeting, the City Council directed staff to proceed with a
Request for Proposals (RFP) process to procure the next Residential Solid Waste
Collections services provider, as well as a Proposition 218 process that would
require eligible residential dwellings to pay a maximum of $20 per month for the
services. Additionally, Council directed staff to include both manual and automated
services as base bid options, and to exclude 3- and 4-unit multi-family complexes
from the services in accordance with the City’s municipal code, which requires the
City to provide refuse service to “single-family and two-family unit residences, not
including condominiums or stock cooperatives”.
At the Sept 4, 2018 meeting, Council approved the scope of services to be
included in the Residential Solid Waste Collection RFP and authorized staff to
seek bids.
At the December 18, 2018 Council meeting, staff presented the proposal interview
and evaluation process that resulted in a recommendation that EDCO be
offered the next 7-year contract for residential one and two-unit property services
as the top-rated provider.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How were the proposals rated?
A: The proposals were evaluated based upon a series of 33 questions specifically
related to each of the key criteria of the RFP.
Given the scoring spread, the panel invited the top three ranked proposers to continue
on to the interview phase: EDCO, Waste Management, and Republic Services.
Q: Who conducted the interviews?
A: The interview panel consisted of the City Manager (El Segundo resident), the
City’s Public Works Director, Finance Director, General Services Manager (Public
Works), Senior Management Analyst (Public Works), and the Solid Waste Program
Manager (Vice President) from SCS Engineers.
Q: What is the cost comparison of manual vs. automated service over the proposed
7-year contract?
A: When considering the lowest cost automated provider (#1 ranked EDCO) to lowest
cost manual provider (#3 ranked Republic) over the proposed 7-year contract
period, the City would save approximately $940,000 by choosing the automated
provider.
Q: How many other cities in LA County use manual service?
A: El Segundo is the only city in LA County that uses curbside manual collection
for its solid waste. Only one other city uses manual services, but they are not
curbside collections – hauler staff actually go onto private property to get the trash.
Q: Why Automated?
A: Automated services are safer, more effective, efficient, and cleaner, will encourage
residents to reduce their waste stream, and will provide a specific green waste
container that can accept organic material (food waste). The automated system
will facilitate compliance with the State’s solid waste regulations that are managed
by the California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle).
Q: Can the City be fined if it does not comply with CalRecycle’s regulations?
A: Yes, and fines for non-compliance can be up to $10,000 per day. The lack of a
residential green waste program was identified as a “gap” in the City’s Solid Waste
Program by CalRecycle. Implementing an automated program in 2019 will provide
a residential green waste program and assist the City in complying with the pending
CalRecycle requirements.
Q: How large will the automated carts be?
A: The City’s bid package requested 95-gallon cart services as the baseline, but
smaller options (64- and 32-gallons) are available at no charge to the owner. The
carts have wheels and lids so they are easy to move and provide much greater containment
of trash, which subsequently reduces the potential for animal intrusions.
Q: How many carts will each household receive?
A: Three (3), at a minimum. If selected, EDCO is also offering one (1) free additional
trash cart, three (3) free additional recycle carts, and three (3) additional
organics carts to customers, thus providing the easiest transition from the
unlimited solid waste services that are provided today, while at the same time encouraging
recycling. They will also remove customers’ existing cans, if requested,
at no cost as part of the transition.
Q: What will happen to the 3- and 4-unit properties?
A: There are 85 three-unit and 104 four-unit properties in the City, which will all
be part of the transition and outreach process in March and April to ensure they
receive the opportunity to select the best hauler for their property’s needs.
Q: Will we still have the City Yard trash and recycling drop-off?
A: Yes.
Q: Can automated trucks use the City’s narrow streets and alleys?
A: Yes. Many cities have narrow streets and alleys that are served by automated
collection. As long as the truck can fit down the street, they can pick up the carts.
As the trash and recyclables are picked up presently on those streets and alleys,
there will not be any difference with an automated system. The automated trucks
are similar size to the current ones being used to manually collect within the City.
Q: How will special event trash and large pick-ups be handled?
A: The following services will continue under the proposed contract:
• Four bulky item pick-ups per year (six items per pickup maximum)
• Bi-Annual Clean-Up Weeks and Shredding Events
• Holiday tree collection
• Abandoned item collection in public right-of-way
Q: How will residents manage Amazon and other large boxes?
A: If the boxes are too large, you can break down the boxes to fit into the recycle
cart. If EDCO is selected, residents can also request up to three (3) free additional
recycle carts.
Q: Do we have to go automated? Can we stay manual? If so – how would
green waste work?
A: The City could continue manual collections; however, the City will not be able to
achieve compliance with the State’s current and pending laws. While the City as
a whole complies with AB939’s requirement of diverting over 50% of solid waste
away from landfills, our residential program falls far short of that. Unlimited manual
service, which has been proven to be contaminated (green, trash and some recycle
in cans together) by CalRecycle’s audit, will not be compliant. With manual service,
residents would need to provide their own containers for trash and organics/green
waste. SB1383 is a new organics disposal law; the regulations to implement SB1383
are expected to be approved early this year and require compliance in 2022. It is
different than previous laws in that “generators”, which include single-family homeowners,
can be fined directly by the State for non-compliance, not just cities.
Q: Is there a third truck with green waste pickup?
A: Yes.
Q: How many days per week would EDCO pick up vs. Republic? How many do
we currently have?
A: EDCO proposed 4-day collections Monday – Thursday. We currently are on a
5-day Monday to Friday cycle for residential collection with Republic.
Q: Where do automated carts get placed – in the street or on the sidewalk?
How does this impact parking? What is going to happen with the street sweeping
schedule?
A: Carts would be placed in the street at the curb for collection. The carts could
take up curb or driveway area until the collection occurs and the carts are retrieved,
depending on each individual’s preference. Vehicles could be parked on
the street and carts placed next to them or in front of the owner’s driveway, or
vehicles could be parked in driveways and carts placed at the curb.
Street sweeping is most effective with no parking regulations after trash collection
day, but this is something the City will review and program with the selected hauler
and our street sweeping contractor to maximize efficiency and minimize impacts on
residents. EDCO included paying for new no parking signage in their bid.
Q: How was Republic going to handle green waste with manual?
A: As requested in the RFP, via owner-provided containers.
Q: Will Republic employees be offered employment if the City chooses EDCO?
A: Yes, that was a request in the RFP. EDCO said not only drivers, but “any
displaced” employees from the previous hauler would be offered employment.
For drivers, EDCO stated City residents and existing drivers would have a “hiring
preference”.
Please watch a short video to see the difference between the Automated vs.
Manual collection methods:
https://youtu.be/TsJjiKuNs4o
More Questions? Please contact Jasmine Allen at Public Works Dept.
310-524-2365 or jallen@elsegundo.org.