City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Public Works
Meeting Date: September 28, 2026
Report #:2606-6460
TITLE
Approval of Professional Services Contract No. C27197334 with Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. for a Waste Characterization Study of the City’s Municipal Solid Waste Stream in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $270,233; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061, 15262
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve and authorize the City Manager or their designee to execute Contract No. C27197334 with Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc., to perform a Waste Characterization Study (WCS) and associated analysis of the City’s municipal solid waste stream, including recyclable, compostable, landfill and construction and demolition materials for a total not-to-exceed amount of $270,233.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City’s 2018 Zero Waste Plan1 established a goal of 95% waste diversion from landfills by 2030. To support this goal, a waste characterization study is needed to analyze the current composition of the City’s municipal solid waste generated by residents and businesses and collected as recyclable, compostable, landfill, and construction and demolition materials. The contract with Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. (Cascadia) will provide the City with detailed data on the breakdown of the materials and include recommendations on materials and strategies that could further reduce landfill disposal and support progress toward the City’s diversion goal.
BACKGROUND
Waste characterization studies (WCS) are an essential tool used by the City and the solid waste industry to understand how residents and businesses sort their waste into various containers, including the types and amounts of waste generated. The City’s most recent WCS was completed in 20172 and provided foundational data to support the development of the 2018 Zero Waste Plan (ZW Plan)3. For example, the 2017 WCS found that two-thirds of the waste 1 City of Palo Alto Zero Waste Plan. August 2018. https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/zerowaste/zero-waste-website-files/2018-zero-waste-plan.pdf 2 City of Palo Alto, California 2017 Waste Characterization Study. January 2018. paloalto2017wcs_finalreport.pdf 3 City of Palo Alto Zero Waste Plan. August 2018. https://www.paloalto.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/zerowaste/zero-waste-website-files/2018-zero-waste-plan.pdf placed in Palo Alto landfill containers was recyclable or compostable. The WCS also found that most compostable waste in the landfill container was food waste. In response to these findings, initiatives were developed and implemented to expand education and encourage edible food recovery in Palo Alto. Many of the initiatives developed in the 2018 ZW Plan have since been implemented, and new data is needed to evaluate and compare the changes made and to continue moving toward the City’s diversion goal.
The data from the 2026 WCS will be used to develop new initiatives for a future update of the ZW Plan, anticipated to be completed in 2027. This project and its findings will also affect the future solicitation of a new contract for the collection, processing, and disposal of waste materials. These services are currently provided by GreenWaste of Palo Alto (collection and processing of all materials except for garbage) and GreenWaste (garbage processing).
The 2026 WCS will study a total of seven waste categories, which include:
• Residential single-family garbage, recyclables, and compost • Residential multifamily garbage, recyclables, and compost • Commercial garbage, recyclables, and compostables
• Hospital garbage
• Loose roll-off garbage
• Mixed construction and demolition materials
• Residuals that are landfilled
These seven waste categories were selected because they were studied in 2017, allowing the City to thoroughly compare the results of the two WCSs and identify patterns and program effectiveness. The primary objectives of the 2026 WCS include:
• Characterize waste composition
• Sort and quantify collected materials by weight
• Identify recovery and diversion opportunities
• Evaluate variability across the community
• Support program evaluation
• Inform future program development
Collectively, these objectives will provide the City with valuable information, allowing it to compare data from 2017 to 2026, assess the effectiveness of the 2018 Zero Waste Plan initiatives, and inform new initiatives to reduce and divert waste from the landfill. The actual WCS fieldwork and sorting of materials will be conducted at a location within GreenWaste’s material recovery facility in San Jose.
ANALYSIS
The City requires a qualified and experienced consulting firm to conduct a comprehensive WCS, sort collected waste materials, and prepare a detailed report analyzing material composition and recommending strategies to improve material recovery and increase landfill diversion. Due to the nature and quantity of the work, outside resources are required. The recommended consultant to carry out the WCS and meet the project's objectives is Cascadia.
Solicitation Process:
A formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for the WCS was posted to the City’s eProcurement system on April 6, 2026. The City received four proposals on May 20, 2026, all of which were deemed responsive, as summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Summary of Solicitation Process
Proposal Description Waste Characterization Study/RFP197334 Proposed length of project 4 months
Total days to respond to proposal 44 days
Number of vendors notified 3977
Number of proposal packages downloaded 40
Pre-proposal meeting and date None, N/A
Number of proposals received 4
Proposal price range $120,032 - $291,135
Public link to solicitation https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/palo-altoca/projects/251994 Table 2: Proposals Received
Company Name Location (City, State) Proposal Amount
Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. Oakland, CA $291,135
SCS Engineers Pleasanton, CA $240,320
Green Group Consulting, LLC Saint Paul, MN $210,500
Nothing Wasted Consulting San Jose, CA $120,032
A team composed of three staff from the Public Works Department evaluated the proposals included in Table 2. Following a comprehensive evaluation, Cascadia received the highest aggregate score and was selected for the quality and completeness of its proposal, the quality and effectiveness of its services, the experience of its staff, and its prior record of performance with the City and other Bay Area jurisdictions.. There were three key differentiating factors in reviewing proposals.
Time criticality. As outlined further below, the 2026 WCS will provide essential data to develop the City’s updated Zero Waste Plan, help shape the service requirements, performance standards for diversion, and establish policy priorities for the future solid waste collection and processing agreement. Selecting a consultant that can complete the work on schedule is a key piece in maintaining progress on the City’s broader waste reduction, contracting, and longrange planning objectives. See Table 3 for an estimated timeline of these projects.
Depth of professional expertise: The City is working toward an ambitious 95% diversion goal. As diversion rates increase, identifying and capturing the remaining recoverable material becomes more complex and challenging. For that reason, it is important to retain a consultant with deep technical expertise, strong analytical capability, and demonstrated success in this specialized field. Cascadia demonstrated this need through their technical expertise and extensive experience performing similar WCSs for local agencies.
Consistently compare with prior reporting to demonstrate trends, changes, and progress towards the City’s 95% diversion goal. The City intends to compare the results of the 2026 WCS with the 2017 WCS to evaluate changes in waste composition and identify progress and remaining opportunities in diversion efforts. Consistency in methodology is key to improve comparability of results, and strengthens the value of the findings for future planning and decision-making. Cascadia’s prior completion of the City’s 2017 WCS provides this additional benefit.
Although Cascadia submitted the highest-cost proposal, staff determined that the cost is justified through the level of detail provided in the proposal, and it represents the best overall value to the City based on the firm’s proposal, technical expertise, ability to meet City’s timeline, and extensive experience performing similar WCSs for local agencies, including prior work for the City. Staff was able to negotiate with Cascadia and get a lower cost proposal. The cost savings to the City between the original Cascadia cost proposal and the updated cost proposal is $20,902.
Table 3: Future Major Refuse Fund Projects and Estimated Timeline Projects Estimated Dates
WCS completed December 2026
Target RFP issuance for consultant services to assist with solicitation process to obtain a new consolidated contract for refuse services October 2026 Target RFP issuance to solicit new consolidated contract for collection, processing, and disposal services for recyclable, compostable, landfill, deconstruction, and construction and demolition materials.
June 2027
Target date for finalizing new agreement June 2028
Current contract with GreenWaste for garbage processing and disposal ends June 30, 2030 Current contract with GreenWaste of Palo Alto ends June 30, 2030 New consolidated solid waste contract begins July 1, 2030
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
Funding for the recommended contract with Cascadia is available in the Refuse Fund’s Fiscal Year 2027 Adopted operating budget. Table 4 below summarizes the main tasks involved in conducting the WCS and meeting the project’s objectives.
Table 4: Summary of Contract Costs with Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.
Tasks Amount
Project coordination and administration $9,018
Waste characterization – targeted waste audits $167,987 Prepare reports $32,470
Reimbursable expenses (if any) $51,953
Additional services (if needed for additional sampling or more analysis comparisons) $8,805 Total contract not-to-exceed amount $270,233
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder engagement for this action consisted of the City’s competitive procurement process to solicit proposals from qualified firms. Broader community and Council engagement related to the WCS findings is anticipated as part of the future Zero Waste Plan update and the solid waste contract planning process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is exempt from CEQA review under section 15262 of the CEQA Guidelines because the contract is a project involving only a feasibility or planning study for possible future actions, and under section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that this waste characterization study will not have a significant effect on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc., Contract #C27197334 APPROVED BY:
Brad Eggleston, Director, Public Works/City Engineer