Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2026
TO: CITY COUNCIL
SUBMITTED BY: STEPHEN BISE, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
PREPARED BY: JEROME JOAQUIN, ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER
MICHELLE DURON, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING SPECIALIST
SUBJECT: SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES RFP SELECTION
SUMMARY
Staff requests City Council direction on the next phase of the Solid Waste Management Services Request for Proposal (RFP) process, including authorization for staff to negotiate the final terms of the service agreement with the selected proposer and prepare the negotiated contract for City Council consideration and final approval.
PROPOSED MOTION
Provide direction regarding the selected proposer, authorize staff to negotiate the final contract terms and direct staff to return to City Council for final contract award.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
None.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
Customer service rates in the Refuse Fund (Fund 46) incorporate the Solid Waste Management Services contract cost structure for residential and commercial solid waste services. Staff would present final fiscal implications for the Refuse Fund, General Fund and customer service rates with the contract award.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) in September 2016 in response to California's climate challenges. The legislation established statewide organic waste recycling and surplus food recovery requirements to reduce methane emissions from landfills and advance State environmental objectives. The following chronologically documents City compliance efforts and events that led to issuing the Solid Waste RFP:
July 2021: HF&H Consultants begin SB 1383 negotiations with Republic Services (Republic) using City‑provided guidance.
January 2022: The City submits its SB 619 Notice of Intent to Comply after the law takes effect.
March 2022: SB 1383 rate negotiations are completed between the City and Republic Services after nine months of negotiations and the City files its compliance notice with CalRecycle, targeting July 2023 implementation.
March 2023: The City receives a Corrective Action Plan with 73 required tasks, completing 60; the remaining 13 delayed by contract negotiations.
Between 2022 - 2023: Republic later states its finance team did not approve the negotiated rates, requiring renewed negotiations and removing the compliance path reported to CalRecycle. The City attempts for years to finalize an SB 1383 amendment package but receives unresponsive proposals.
Early 2024: A tentative agreement is reached, but the final Republic proposal deviates from agreed terms and adds unsupported inflation costs, stalling negotiations.
February 2025: State granted final CalRecycle CAP extension until June 30, 2027, Republic contract term end to allow time to complete an RFP process.
Early 2025: City consultant conducted a final round of negotiations with Republic before proceeding with the RFP process, but the effort was unsuccessful.
May 2025: City Council appointed Mayor Jung and Council Member Valencia to an Ad Hoc Committee to assist with the Solid Waste and Recycling Services Request for Proposals (RFP) review and evaluation. The Committee provided input and staff guidance throughout the process.
September 2025: City Council approved releasing a Solid Waste Management Services RFP to secure long-term, high-quality solid waste collection, recycling and organics management services.
On September 17, 2025, the City advertised RFP #2526-03 Solid Waste Management Services in OpenGov, the City’s e-Procurement solicitation platform. The RFP included a comprehensive scope of services, RFP requirements and timeline (Attachment 2). The City held a mandatory pre-proposal conference on October 1, 2025, to provide project details and clarifying requirements to proposers. The question and answer period closed October 15, 2025, with final written responses issued on October 17, 2025, to ensure transparency and equal access to information. The City received nine proposals by the November 17, 2025 deadline.
Five staff members from relevant departments formed an Evaluation Committee and conducted a comprehensive review of all submissions. The City invited all nine firms to the interview phase held January 22 and 23, 2026, to discuss qualifications with the Evaluation Committee and how they align with City priorities. The Committee finalized evaluation scores on January 29, 2026. Staff prepared findings for the Ad Hoc Committee and received guidance on next steps. Staff made RFP Packets available for independent Council Member review between February 9, 2026, and contract award.
Evaluation Criteria and Scoring
The Evaluation Committee performed an extensive scoring analysis of each proposal. Scoring criteria prioritized overall proposal quality and completeness, assessing each firm’s operational capabilities, regulatory compliance expertise, team qualifications, and relevant experience. Reviewers also considered financial stability, service reliability, available resources, proposed rates, commitment to community benefits, local support, and performance during the oral interviews. Scores were combined across 15 evaluation categories, resulting in the following final ranking:
EDCO Disposal
CR&R Environmental Services
Universal Waste Systems
NASA Services
Athens Services
Valley Vista Services
GreenWaste Recovery
Ware Disposal
Republic Services
Based on the scoring and analysis, the Evaluation Committee identified the following top three ranked firms as the most responsive and qualified:
EDCO Disposal
CR&R Environmental Services
Universal Waste Systems
These firms demonstrated strong operational expertise, competitive rate structures, comprehensive compliance frameworks, diverse range of value‑added services and enhancements, and significant infrastructure capabilities.
Ad Hoc Committee Evaluation and Recommendation
City staff presented a summary of the RFP proceedings to the Ad Hoc Committee on February 2, 2026, including a review of the top-ranked firms. The Ad Hoc Committee requested a follow-up meeting to examine scoring, proposals, and supplemental materials.
The subsequent meeting was held on February 24, 2026. At that meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee supported consideration of the top three firms, and following its independent review, recommended City Council also consider the following three firms for potential deliberation:
Republic Services
Athens Services
Valley Vista Services.
The Committee intended to expand the range of options available to City Council when selecting a firm or multiple firms, with particular emphasis on pricing structures, infrastructure, organizational integrity, and service reliability. The Committee also directed that the study session exclude presentations from the proposing firms, allowing City Council members to further explore the proposal details through a dedicated Question and Answer format.
City Council Evaluation and Recommendation
At the April 14, 2026, Solid Waste Evaluation Study Session, City Council directed staff to advance the following six firms (Evaluation Committee and Ad Hoc Committee recommended firms) for continued consideration and requested that each proposer submit a final offer proposal:
EDCO Disposal
CR&R Environmental Services
Universal Waste Systems
Republic Services
Athens Services
Valley Vista Services
The six shortlisted firms were invited to strengthen their submissions through price reductions, additional value-added services, and/or financial enhancements, and submitted their proposals on May 5, 2026. Staff reviewed the six final offer submissions and prepared a comparative summary for City Council consideration.
At the June 30, 2026, Solid Waste Management Services RFP continued Evaluation, the City Council directed staff to advance the following three firms for further consideration.
CR&R Environmental Services
Republic Services
Valley Vista Services
The City Council also requested that the communication embargo be lifted to allow direct communication between council members and the proposers regarding contract priorities. In addition, the City Council called for community input and feedback on service priorities and firm preference, to be gathered through community meetings and written comments.
The three firms were provided opportunities to enhance their submissions based on any contract priorities discussed during these individual communications and submitted their proposals by August 24, 2026. Republic Services’ August 24, 2026 Final Offer was contingent on approval of a higher GTCI index, an exemption it had identified from the beginning of the proposal process. On September 2, 2026, Republic submitted an unsolicited revised Final Offer in response to the City’s request for clarification on whether there would be any material changes if the requested GTCI index was not approved. Republic confirmed that it would use the City’s CPI-U rate adjustment table and updated its rates and service enhancements accordingly.
Final Offer Review
Staff reviewed the three final offer submissions and prepared a comprehensive analysis of all three final offers for City Council consideration.
Each firm enhanced its proposal during the final offer process. While some firms strengthened their competitive position through their final offers, others entered the process with strong initial proposals and made targeted refinements summarized as follows.
CR&R Environmental Services (CR&R)
CR&R remains the strongest overall offer, providing the best combination of competitive pricing, comprehensive service enhancements, and compliance, with no concerns, exceptions, or conditions. CR&R’s proposed residential rate at $30.66would be lower than the current $30.78 rate.
On pricing, CR&R ranks second in both commercial and industrial costs but offers particularly strong value for smaller commercial customers. It provides the lowest recycling and organics cart rates and the lowest 3-yard trash bin rate, tied with Republic. For residential customers, CR&R’s standard single-family rate is $0.24 more per month than Republic’s and $4.27 more than Valley Vista’s. Its $27.60 senior rate is $8.92 higher than Republic’s and $10.55 higher than Valley Vista’s.
CR&R’s financial package is the strongest of the three proposers. It includes a $4 million road improvement payment with no conditions, $300,000 in capital improvements including Downtown District enclosure refurbishment, approximately $100,000 annually in City sponsorships, donations, and scholarships, residential billing at no cost to the City, and a 100% SB 1383 procurement guarantee through RNG credits and compost, estimated to provide approximately $400,000 in annual value.
CR&R’s final offer also reaffirms all commitments from its original November 2025 proposal and subsequent May 2026 submissions. In addition, CR&R has enhanced bulky-item service by offering unlimited single-family collection and monthly multifamily collection during peak moving periods. It has also offered to develop a separate multifamily rate structure for the City’s consideration rather than applying commercial rates.
CR&R also brings significant local experience and infrastructure. Its Teamsters Local 396 workforce includes an offer of union employment to every driver currently serving Fullerton. Its Stanton headquarters is approximately nine driving miles from City Hall, and it serves more Orange County jurisdictions than any other proposer. CR&R has experience serving similar sized cities and has completed 17 transitions from longtime haulers over the past 20 years, all of which remain customers. Its infrastructure includes three RNG fueling stations, two Orange County material recovery facilities, an established anaerobic digestion facility connected to the SoCalGas pipeline, two owned landfills, and California’s only low-carbon solid fuel plant.
The primary considerations are CR&R’s higher standard residential and senior rates compared with some competitors and the possibility of delays in receiving the new fleet. If delays occur, CR&R may need to use its existing fleet until the new vehicles arrive.
Republic Services
Republic’s final offer is a serious and substantially improved submission. Republic’s strengths lie in an experienced Teamsters Local 396 local workforce, and nearby Republic-owned processing and disposal infrastructure with a state-of-the-art renewed CVT facility, and its September 2nd offer now aligns its rate adjustments with the City’s own CPI-U table, which is historically better for ratepayers.
Republic offers $0.24 lower residential pricing than CR&R at $30.42 for standard service and $18.68 for senior service, with a particularly significant senior-rate advantage. It lowers commercial and multifamily rates by more than 26%, setting the 3-yard once-weekly trash rate at $256.67 and recycling and organics cart pricing at $46.32, matching CR&R’s rates exactly. Republic’s 2x-6x weekly commercial trash rates are placed above CR&R’s on multi-frequency bin, compactor, and pull-out services rose by approximately 3%, and Downtown District services increased by 0.88% to 1.44%. Republic Services remains the overall highest-cost proposal of the three with disproportional impact on bin-service costs to multi-family properties and also rank 3rd in procurement support.
In the final offer, Republic Services now proposes a $4.25 million road and infrastructure payment, subject to a conditional reduction for City RFP costs above $75,000. Republic’s unlimited on-call bulky-item collection for single-family and multifamily customers is also a meaningful program benefit, without the peak move-in/move-out limitation that applies to CR&R’s multifamily offer. Republic also confirmed that all containers would be new or like-new and SB 1383-compliant and that the costs associated with providing compliant container equipment have been fully incorporated into the proposed pricing. A new commitment to investing a modernized fleet by replacing 22 dedicated collection vehicles by July 2027, and the remaining trucks being fewer than three years old, with a phased deployment of electric collection vehicles, benefiting Fullerton with safer and more reliable service.
A related concern is negotiation reliability, which matters as much for the upcoming franchise term as for the City’s past experience. The relevance is forward-looking, CalRecycle continues to adopt new requirements that may need to be implemented mid-term through good-faith negotiations with the franchise hauler, and Senate Bill 54, a legislation which establishes new requirements affecting the materials that must be accepted within the recycling stream, is likely to require such negotiations in the near term. City Council should weigh each finalist’s demonstrated ability to finalize and honor negotiated terms, and any agreement with Republic should include defined timelines for future regulatory-change negotiations.
Valley Vista Services
Valley Vista leads on quantifiable measures with no conditions attached. Valley Vista’s structural advantage is organics infrastructure. Grand Central Recycling & Transfer Station, Southern California’s only certified High-Diversion Organic Waste Processing Facility (HDOWPF) has committed 500 tons per day of capacity to Fullerton through June 2047, with organics diversion averaging 80%.
Of the three finalists, Valley Vista isthe lowest cost proposer in every category, residential ($26.39 standard single-family / $17.05 senior), commercial and industrial. CR&R and Republic have lower trash rates, but Valley Vista prices commercial recycling bins at roughly half its refuse rates, $134.00 for a 3-yard bin collected weekly, compared with $218.17 for both competitors. This advantage would become more valuable as SB 1383 right-sizing and contamination-mitigation requirements move commercial generators out of carts and into properly sized recycling bins. A larger share of the City’s commercial base would fall into the rate category where Valley Vista’s savings are greatest.
In its final submission, Valley Vista translated this benefit into a Fullerton-specific service, a two-container (black and green) collection program for space-constrained sites, available through a City-approved waiver, with SB 1383-compliant mixed-waste processing. For multifamily and downtown properties where limited container space drives contamination and enforcement burden, this is a needed solution. Another strengthened offer, a guaranteed of all-new collection vehicles by July 1, 2027, the strongest fleet commitment of the three finalists.
These commitments join an enhancement package that already included six recycling coordinators during transition, three ongoing coordinators, HHW collection events, SHARPS mail back program, unlimited residential and multifamily on-call bulky-item collection as stated in Valley Vista’s certified final submission, up to $250,000 in SB 1383 procurement assistance through ROWP purchases, unlimited compost and mulch, and no-cost street sweeping after the City’s current contract expires.
A factor to consider is financial capacity, its field-leading pricing appears to leave an estimated operating margin of less than 5%, and the future no-cost street sweeping commitment, an estimated cost of approximately $500,000 per year, could consume a substantial share of the margin. Although, Valley Vista’s ownership of Grand Central Recycling and its associated recycling and transfer operations means the processing and transfer economics of the franchise would remain within affiliated companies rather than being paid to third parties, a cost buffer credited as supporting the financial health of the hauling operation. Other potential differentiators include Valley Vista’s non-union workforce, and its residential billing charge of $0.53 per unit. Overall, Valley Vista offers the City’s ratepayers the lowest price.
Transition Plan
Staff communicated the State’s and the City’s SB 1383 transition plan expectations with all firms during the interview phase of the RFP process in January 2026. To achieve an effective and methodical outcome, the following order of the transition plan steps is the desired approach:
Customer Data Evaluation and Revision
SB 1383 Education and Outreach Campaign
Customer Service Level Assessment and Waivers
SB 1383 Compliant Container Exchange/Delivery
Citywide SB 1383 Collection Service Complete Rollout
CR&R provided a credible and specific plan, including biweekly City coordination, vehicles ordered the day after City Council approval, and Sustainability Team visits to every Multifamily and Commercial account by December 31, 2026.
Republic Services’ plan requires a more comprehensive and robust transition strategy. While the intent to implement an immediate or accelerated transition is well-intentioned, it does not align with the State’s and City’s expectations for an undertaking of this magnitude.
Valley Vista Services provided the most specific plan in the field, proposing monthly and then biweekly City coordination, at least ten community meetings between April and June 2027, three Citywide mailers, City Hall customer service staffing, and Operation Sparkle, a Citywide abandoned-item sweep two weeks before service begins, plus Downtown enclosure power washing and gate painting during the equipment swap at no cost.
Community Input and Feedback
The City of Fullerton hosted two community meetings to provide residents and businesses with an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming waste and recycling contract and meet staff from the three remaining firms. The first meeting was held on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the Fullerton Community Center, and the second on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at the Hunt Library, both from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
The meetings were conducted in an open house format, allowing community members to drop in at any time during the scheduled period, ask questions, speak with the proposers and City staff. For community members unable to attend, additional opportunities were offered to submit comments, suggestions, and concerns via a dedicated Fullerton RFP email address or through written submissions placed in a lockbox at the Fullerton Community Center front desk, and during the two community meetings, with a submission deadline of Friday, July 31, 2026.
City staff promoted the community events and comment opportunites through the City’s website, social media Instagram account, posters displayed in the Fullerton Library, City Hall, and Fullerton Community Center, the City Manager Newsletter, flyers distributed at the City’s Night Market event and first community meeting event, and an email blast to subscribed recipients.
A total of 31 community members attended the two meetings, and 30 comments were submitted, 25 by email and 5 through written submissions. City staff reviewed the public comments and prepared a briefing summary, which was provided to the City Council in a memorandum for consideration.
The key themes emerging from community feedback include service quality and reliability, bulky item service, container and bin management, customer service and communication, environmental priorities, and pricing concerns.
The hauler preferences from the community varied widely:
CR&R was frequently praised for being local, community oriented environmentally advanced, with strong facilities.
Valley Vista Service was viewed positively by some for community-mindedness and updated fleet; concerns raised about lack of unionization.
Republic Services was supported by many for decades of service history, union workforce, and unlimited bulky pickup; others expressed strong opposition due to service failures and commercial billing issues.
Revised RFP Timeline Schedule
The RFP timeline was adjusted to better align with the deliberation process and anticipated City Council direction. Key milestones, including the City Council Study Session and Final Recommendation meeting, were advanced to later dates to allow sufficient time for City Council review of internal documents, public engagement and remaining compliant with the State’s Corrective Action Plan (CAP) deadline. *Italicized sections indicate revised activities and dates Activity
Milestone Date
RFP Posted - Electronic Delivery
September 17, 2025
Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference
October 1, 2025
Last Day to Submit RFP Questions
October 15, 2025
Last Written Response to Proposer Questions
October 17, 2025
Deadline For Submittal of Proposals
November 17, 2025
Complete Proposal Evaluation
January 15, 2026
Interview Selected Proposers
January 19 through 23, 2026
Review Committee Presents Findings to Ad Hoc Committee
February 2, 2026
Prepare RFP Report Packet for City Council Review
Week of February 2, 2026
RFP Report Packet Available for City Council Review
February 9, 2026 – Contract Award
Follow-Up Evaluation with Ad Hoc Committee
February 24, 2026
Present Evaluation at City Council Study Session
April 14, 2026
Continue Evaluation at City Council Study Session
June 30, 2026
Host Community Open House Meetings
July 23 and 28, 2023
Present Final Recommendation to City Council
September 15, 2026
Finalize Agreement with Recommended Firm
TBD
Finalize Equipment Purchase and Roll-Out Plan
TBD
Present Finalized Agreement to City Council
TBD
Selected Firm Orders Equipment*
TBD
Roll Out of Commercial Program*
July 1, 2027
Roll Out of Residential Program*
July 1, 2027
*Firm timeline requirements for the City to meet the CAP deadline CalRecycle Corrective Action Plan
On June 8, 2026, City staff met with CalRecycle’s Jurisdiction and Agency Compliance and Enforcement (JACE) Branch to discuss progress and delays associated with the CAP RFP implementation milestones. During the meeting, CalRecycle expressed concern regarding the missed April 2026 contract negotiation milestone, as well as other proposed schedule delays that could jeopardize the City’s ability to meet the final SB 1383 implementation deadline of July 1, 2027.
JACE staff indicated that a follow-up meeting would be scheduled in the near future to review the City’s proposed next steps and assess the feasibility of achieving the final implementation deadline. Should CalRecycle determine that the delays are likely to result in non-compliance, the agency may cancel the CAP and initiate a formal Compliance Review audit. Such an action could result in administrative penalties ranging from $500 to $10,000 per violation per day, potentially retroactive to January 1, 2022. CalRecycle subsequently formalized these concerns in a letter to the City dated June 19, 2026 (Attachments 8 and 9).
On July 15, 2026, City staff provided the CalRecycle JACE team with an update regarding the outcome of the June 30, 2026 City Council meeting to address their concerns and outline the City’s renewed compliance efforts, which established a revised schedule to meet the CAP milestone timeline and, ultimately, the final implementation deadline of July 1, 2027. The State responded by approving the revised schedule with expectations for an expedited negotiation and contract award process.
A follow‑up meeting with the State will be scheduled at a later date to review the progress of the RFP process and confirm the City’s commitment to meeting the final implementation deadline.
Staff continues to recommend adherence to the CAP milestone schedule to maintain compliance and avoid further implementation delays. It is imperative that sufficient time remain available to complete the planning, procurement, outreach, education, and operational transition activities necessary to successfully implement a fully compliant SB 1383 collection program.
Deliberation Priorities
City Council direction at this stage is essential to authorize the development of detailed scopes of work, rate structures, and service level deliberation needed to finalize contract terms. Timely action is necessary to maintain progress toward awarding and transitioning contracts in accordance with the State-mandated CAP timeline.
City Council should consider the following priorities:
Reasonable Pricing Structure Relative to Services Provided Service Quality and Reliability
Compliance and Regulatory Alignment
Local Economic Impacts
Long-Term Rate Stability
Community Engagement
Innovation, Infrastructure & Sustainability
Workforce Reliability, Minimizing the Risk of Labor Stoppages New Contract Transition Timeline for All Proposed Firms (i.e., Customer Data Evaluation, Customer Service Level Assessment, Equipment Purchases, SB 1383 Education and Outreach Campaign, Citywide SB 1383 Collection Service Rollout, including the transition and replacement of waste containers) The overarching objective of the procurement process is to secure regulatory compliance, operational reliability, cost-effective service delivery, and alignment with the City’s sustainability goals. Staff requests City Council direction to finalize service agreement terms with a selected provider for Solid Waste contract award.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – PowerPoint Presentation
Attachment 2 – RFP Baseline Required Services
Attachment 3 – Draft Franchise Agreement
Attachment 4 – Final Proposal Analysis and Ranking
Attachment 5 – CR&R Final Proposal
Attachment 6 – Republic Services Final Proposal
Attachment 7 – Valley Vista Services Final Proposal
Attachment 8 – CalRecycle Letter
Attachment 9 – CalRecycle Fullerton CAP
cc: City Manager Eddie Manfro
Solid Waste RFP Selection
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