After public opposition forced staff to reconsider its first
recommendation, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors is
expected to vote on whether or not to switch to a new provider for
curbside garbage and recycling pickup in South County next
month.
After public opposition forced staff to reconsider its first recommendation, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors is expected to vote on whether or not to switch to a new provider for curbside garbage and recycling pickup in South County next month.
A public hearing is set for Sept. 29, where staff will present its recommended proposal to award the new contract for the 4,000 affected customers to GreenWaste Recovery. A vote from the board is scheduled to take place immediately after the public hearing.
A report from the Integrated Waste Management department at Thursday’s meeting of the board’s Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee followed several months of study by a focus group of South County citizens that was formed solely to consider modified proposals from two bidders.
“GreenWaste Recovery was able to do more for less,” said supervisor and committee member Don Gage.
The current contract with South Valley Disposal and Recycling, which has provided curbside service to the area for decades, was set to expire Sept. 30 until angry residents expressed their disapproval with the county’s initial recommendation to award the new contract to GreenWaste Recovery in February.
As a result, Director of the Dept. of Agriculture and Environmental Management Greg Van Wassenhove directed staff to go back to the drawing board. They put together a “focus group” of area citizens to establish the service needs of South County residents, and the county asked the two companies to re-draft their proposals based on those needs.
Chief among the residents’ complaints with the initial recommendation was GreenWaste’s proposal did not provide some of the services they received from South Valley Disposal. The original recommendation included the replacement of 96-gallon curbside yard waste containers for the longtime use of vouchers allowing customers to haul the waste to landfills themselves. Residents were also concerned because despite the changes in services offered, GreenWaste’s proposed rate increase was higher than that of South Valley Disposal.
Now, both new proposals are more of an “apples to apples” comparison, Gage said.
Added Van Wassenhove, “The focus group helped define the services needed for the area, and then participated in the actual evaluation of the proposals, as did IWM staff.”
The monthly rate for residential weekly garbage pickup for a 32-gallon container, plus twice-a-month collection of recyclable trash, will rise to $24.05 per month with the new GreenWaste proposal. The proposal recommended in February called for a $25.85 monthly rate for the same size container.
The current rate is $22.90.
For customers who opt to use larger garbage containers, the rate will increase proportionally.
Some new services are included in the proposal staff is recommending, including the offer of a 20-gallon garbage container at a lower rate, and “single-stream” recycling pickup that allows residents to mix all their recyclable products into one container, Van Wassenhove said.
GreenWaste’s monthly rate would also include 12 vouchers per year allowing customers to haul yard waste to a landfill, in addition to curbside collection of 96-gallon yard waste containers; two vouchers for curbside “rubbish or bulky goods” pickup; placement of larger items on the curb for pick up two days a year; and annual community cleanup programs to serve 600 households each.
“The staff and the focus group were especially impressed with (GreenWaste’s) ability to process and divert waste, which will be critical as state mandates increase,” Van Wassenhove said, referring to state requirements for counties to divert at least 75 of their waste out of landfills by 2020.
The current contract wit South Valley has been extended to Dec. 31, 2009, and the new contract will start Jan. 1, 2010, Van Wassenhove said.
The IWM staff report does not identify the rates proposed by South Valley Disposal, but San Martin resident and focus group member Sylvia Hamilton said they were higher than those proposed by GreenWaste.
“South Valley Disposal has been excellent, and it’s hard to make these kind of changes because they’re like your neighbor,” Hamilton said. “But when you look at these things you have to look at the cost and the service provided, especially in these economic times.”
The county’s garbage district two encompasses most of South County and includes 4,000 households in San Martin and other unincorporated areas surrounding Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
She added that the services proposed by both companies in the latest proposals are “basically the same.”
If the board approves the contract, it will expire in 2014.
The city of Morgan Hill has a contract for garbage hauling services with South Valley Disposal that will run until 2015. That contract currently serves about 9,700 households, according to Environmental Programs Director Anthony Eulo.
South Valley Disposal serves about 30,000 households in Santa Clara and San Benito counties. They have hauled residential garbage in South County “at least since the 1950s,” Eulo said.
Garbage hauling rates, by the numbers
(Price per month for weekly garbage pickup)
20-gallon container
Current: N/A
Proposed: $19
32-gallon container
Current: $22.90
Proposed: $24.05
64-gallon container
Current: $46.80
Proposed: $49.10
96-gallon container
Current: $70.70
Proposed: $74.15
*Source: Santa Clara County Integrated Waste Management Division. Rates include services associated with pickup of recycling and yard waste.
