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CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Report: Resolution Dispensing with Competitive Bidding and Authorizing a Contract Extension for Operation of Glendale Recycling Center
1) Resolution dispensing with competitive bidding and authorizing an amendment to the existing contract 8001348 with Cedarwood-Young Company DBA Allan Company, for operation of the Glendale Recycling Center increasing the contract amount by $2,000,000 to $4,134,074 and extending the duration for two additional years through March 31, 2028, with the option for two one-year extensions through March 31, 2030.
COUNCIL ACTION
Item Type: Action Item
Approved for January 27, 2026 calendar
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since 2006, the Cedarwood-Young Company DBA Allan Company (Allan Company) has operated the Glendale Recycling Center for city-collected recyclables. In addition, the Allan Company provides a beverage container redemption center as well as paying the public for recyclable cardboard. Over the years, the Allan Company’s contract has been amended to address dynamic shifts, including fluctuations in recyclables markets as well as the decline in recyclables due to the implementation of the commercial franchise system. These changes have resulted in an operation that, while operating efficiently, is substantially underutilized.
The Glendale Recycling Center Master Plan is currently being finalized and will recommend physical and operational changes to the site to solve existing issues and address changing waste management demands. Since the current contract with Allan Company ends in March 2026, this extension(s) is warranted to allow Council the additional time necessary to consider the Master Plan recommendations. Under the proposed contract extension, the per-ton cost of processing the city’s recyclable material will increase on April 1, 2026, and at each contract extension (April 2028 and April 2029) by 3% or the CPI, whichever is higher. All other existing contract terms with the Allan Company will remain in place.
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve the resolution dispensing with competitive bidding and authorizing an amendment to the existing contract with Allan Company, for operation of the Glendale Recycling Center increasing the contract duration two additional years through March 31, 2028, with the option for two, one-year increment extensions through March 31, 2030, and increase the contract amount by $2,000,000 to $4,134,074.
ANALYSIS
Allan Company has operated the Glendale Recycling Center since 2006 upon City Council award of a five-year contract for operation, processing, and marketing of recyclables. The Allan Company’s contract has been amended six times since the original contract; primarily due to the facility’s payment rate to the city. The Allan Company originally paid the city $26 per ton for city collected recyclables delivered to the recycling center. In 2008, the payment rate increased to $31 per ton and in 2017 to $36 per ton. In 2017, the National Sword Policy, whose disruption to the recyclables market directly resulted in the city now having to pay Allan Company a negotiated amount of $54 per ton to process curbside recyclables beginning May 2021 through October 2021.
The Allan Company contract was extended to March 31, 2022, and increased by $350,000 to provide the necessary time for a Request for Proposal to produce a new operator for the Glendale Recycling Center. However, due to the significant capital investment required by a new operator, the continuing depressed market for recyclables, and a reasonable standard for Glendale to commit to a minimum five-year contract, staff determined the city was unlikely to receive competitive proposals from multiple companies, ultimately resulting in the City Council dispensing with competitive bidding, and authorizing a three year extension ending March 31, 2025 and adding an additional $1,555,200, bringing the new contractual amount to $2,057,264. Then in April 2024, the City Council dispensed with competitive bidding and increased the contract (8001348) amount by $76,810 bringing it to $2,134,074 and extended the duration one additional year to March 31, 2026.
With the imminent closure of Scholl Canyon Landfill, work began in 2024 to create a Recycling Center Master Plan to assist in identifying the best role the Glendale Recycling Center can play in supporting the city’s waste management operations.
The report is nearly complete and includes an evaluation of the present operation, forecasting the waste streams and their financial impact on the city, regional alternatives for managing materials, and preparing three alternatives for continued operations and a phased plan for facility improvements.
In the interim, the Allan Company continues to maintain the recycling center operation despite that tonnage has decreased 25% since 2020 (impact of the city’s decision to franchise the commercial sector), the aggregated value of the material has decreased by 20%, and the CPI has risen over 10% since 2021 resulting in increased labor, energy, and equipment costs.
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Allan Company has agreed to continue supporting operations of the Recycling Center through the actualization of the Master Plan. These extensions will serve to see us through to whatever outcome Council directs relative to the Center’s next iteration.
With the current low tonnage levels at the Glendale Recycling Center and depressed value of materials processed, it would be disadvantageous at this time for the city to seek a new operator under the existing conditions for the site. Since Allan Company has equipment and staffing currently in place, they are well-positioned to continue operations despite these conditions. As there are very few comparable municipalities that have retained such programs, it should be noted that the proposed increase remains less than the $121 per ton that the City of Burbank is currently paying their recycling center operator.
STAKEHOLDERS/OUTREACH
Continuing an existing service will not have a community impact, therefore, no community outreach is planned.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed contract amendment increasing the recycling center operator contract $2,000,000 is projected to cost $112,000 in the current fiscal year. The Public Works Department budget can absorb this cost and therefore no new appropriation is being requested at this time. Funding for the remaining contract years will be requested as part of the city’s annual budget process. The funding is outlined below:
Existing Appropriation
Amount Account String Funding Source
$112,000 43110-5300-PWD-7523-P000 Refuse Fund
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW (CEQA/NEPA)
This item is considered ministerial activity and therefore, not subject to CEQA review.
CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE
The names and business addresses of the members of the board of directors, the chairperson, CEO, COO, CFO, Subcontractors and any person or entity with more than 10% interest in the company proposed for contract in this Agenda Item Report are attached in Exhibit # 1, in accordance with the City Campaign Finance Ordinance No. 5744.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
1. Do not authorize a resolution dispensing with competitive bidding for a contract extension for the operation of the Glendale Recycling Center and close this facility beginning April 2026. Glendale residents will not have access to a public recycling facility in the city and Integrated Waste recycling loads will need to be taken to distant processing facilities increasing operational costs.
2. The City Council may consider any other alternative not proposed by staff. 9a4
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ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by:
Daniel Hernandez, Director of Public Works
Prepared by:
Etienne Ozorak, Integrated Waste Superintendent
Approved by:
Roubik R. Golanian, P.E., City Manager
EXHIBITS/ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit 1: Campaign Finance Disclosure