City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 23, 2020
Agenda Item: 3.C
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Susan Cline, Director, Public Works
Subject: Award of Contractual Services Agreement to Stericyle Environmental Solutions to Provide General and Hazardous Waste Disposal Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award Bid # 257 to Stericycle Environmental Solutions to provide a household hazardous waste (HHW) door-to-door curbside collection program, hazardous waste management, transportation and disposal services of HHW for various City locations, staffing for the HHW Center, sewer diversion and wet well cleaning and waste disposal;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contractual services agreement with Stericycle Environmental Solutions in an amount not to exceed $630,000 (includes 20% contingency) for hazardous waste services required by the Resource Recycling, and Recovery Division for an initial term of three years, with two additional one-year renewal options in the amount of $220,000 for Year Four and $230,000 for Year Five, with an increase based on a mutually agreeable index such as the Consumer Price Index, and not to exceed 7%. In addition, Stericycle may apply additional increases to cover extraordinary or unexpected increases in disposal costs at the incinerators, landfills, etc., for a total amount not to exceed $1,080,000 over a five-year period, with future funding contingent upon Council budget approval.
3. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contractual services agreement with Stericycle Environmental Solutions in an amount not to exceed $630,000 (includes 20% contingency) for hazardous waste services required by the Water Resources Division for three years, with two additional one-year renewal options in the amount of $210,000 each year, with an increase based on a mutually agreeable index such as the Consumer Price Index, and not to exceed 7%. In addition, Stericycle may apply additional increases to cover extraordinary or unexpected increases in disposal costs at the incinerators, landfills, etc., for a total amount not to exceed $1,050,000 over a five-year period, with future funding contingent upon Council budget approval.
4. Authorize the Director of Public Works to issue any necessary change orders or modifications to complete additional work within contract authority.
5. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts and Budget Actions section of this report.
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Summary
In compliance with state regulations and the City’s commitment to the environment, the City uses the services of Stericycle Environmental Solutions for:
• Support of the residential Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) door-to-door collections program;
• Transportation, recycling, and disposal services for hazardous waste generated by City operations, emergency response, small quantity business generators, or dropped off at the City’s HHW Center in the City Yards; and • Transportation, pumping, cleaning and disposal services for hazardous waste management when maintenance is performed on sewer diversion treatment units, wet well, and oil-water treatment interceptors for the Wastewater Division.
These services are provided under two separate contracts: one covers the disposal of hazardous waste generated by the City, small quantity business generators, and residents; the other covers the disposal of hazardous waste collected in the City’s sewer diversion units and interceptors. Both contracts end on June 30, 2020. After a formal Request for Proposals process, staff recommends Stericycle Environmental Solutions, Inc. to continue providing these services.
Discussion
According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), it is illegal to dispose of HHW in the garbage, storm drains, or on the street. Untreated toxic chemicals can pollute the environment and cause harm to animals and humans. Typical HHW includes paints, adhesives, batteries, aerosols, fluorescent lamps, electronics, used oil, and pesticides.
The Residential HHW Door-to-Door Collections Program was first introduced in the City as a pilot program in January 2011. The program is currently available to all residents.
After making a telephone or online appointment, a trained, contracted hazmat technician collects the HHW from the resident’s home within five days and transports the materials to an approved hazardous materials certified facility for further processing, recycling, and disposal. In fiscal year 2018-19, a total of 1,281 households participated 3 of 6
in the Residential HHW Door-to-Door Collections Program, resulting in the collection of 78,665 pounds of HHW that were either safely discarded or diverted from landfills and recycled. The program currently costs the Resource Recovery and Recycling Fund $73 per appointment; residents do not pay extra for this service because the cost is funded by regular solid waste rates.
The Residential HHW Door-to-Door Collections Program was previously proposed to be terminated during the FY 2019-21 biennial budget cycle budget efficiencies exercise.
Soon after the budget submittal, the Santa Monica Community Recycling Center (commonly known as the Buy-Back Center) closed on June 15, 2019, eliminating a local outlet for Santa Monica residents to drop off recyclable items, including electronic waste, which is considered HHW. Community members have frequently inquired about the HHW program since the Buy-Back Center closed.
While not all cities provide this level of “white glove service,” Santa Monica residents have appreciated the convenience of having their HHW picked up from their homes for almost a decade, as opposed to taking the materials to the nearest Los Angeles County drop-off location at UCLA. The program diverts tens of thousands of pounds of HHW from landfills that residents might have otherwise thrown in their trash and reflects the City's commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. For these reasons, staff recommends retaining the Residential HHW Door-to-Door Collections Program.
In addition, the HHW Center at the City Yards safely stores hazardous materials collected from in-house city operations, emergency response, and small quantity business generators. The HHW center is staffed with one permanent Hazardous Materials Technician and two part-time contracted staff. Contracted staff are certified hazardous waste technicians who are trained in specialized packaging of hazardous waste and licensed to transport hazardous waste materials to the processing facility.
The City’s Wastewater Division also requires disposal of its hazardous waste from its sewer diversion treatment units, wet well, and oil-water treatment interceptors located at 4 of 6
the City Yards, Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF), and three other locations in the City.
Vendor Selection
Bidder Recommendation
Best Qualified Firm Stericycle Environmental Solutions
Evaluation Criteria Price; the ability, capacity and skill of the firm to perform the services; the capacity of the firm to perform both the technical inspections and the maintenance activities; the reputation and experience of the firm with stormwater infrastructure.
Municipal Code SMMC 2.24.180
Submittals Received
Stericycle Environmental
Solutions, Inc
NRC Environmental Services,
Inc.
Clean Harbors Environmental
Solutions, Inc.
IDR Environmental Services Advanced Chemical Transport, Inc.
RFP Data
Advertised in
(City Charter and SMMC) Vendors Downloaded Date Publicly Opened Santa Monica Daily Press 36 4/9/2020
Best Bidder Justification
An evaluation panel of representatives from two divisions including Water Resources and Resource Recovery and Recycling reviewed and ranked all proposals using the criteria set forth in the RFP. Pursuant to SMMC 2.24, staff recommends Stericycle Environmental Solutions, Inc. as the best qualified firm to provide hazardous waste management, transportation and disposal. Stericycle Environmental Solutions, Inc. was unanimously selected based on (including, but not limited to) the firm’s:
• Ability to provide all the required services by offering a highly integrated and comprehensive solution to meet the City’s hazardous waste needs; • Experience with similar projects with comparable municipalities and agencies; and • Subject matter expertise with hazardous waste management, transportation, and disposal.
As the incumbent service provider, Stericycle Environmental Solutions’ intricate knowledge of the City’s current program and facilities positions their local team to capitalize on the success, stability, and functionality of the City’s system currently in place, thus ensuring the program’s continuity and a smooth, risk-free transition. 5 of 6
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve funding from the Resource Recovery and Recycling, Water, and Wastewater Funds to award two separate contracts with Stericycle Environmental Solutions. The first contract is for the management, transportation, recycling, and disposal of hazardous waste generated by City operations, emergency response, small quantity business generators, and residents. The second contract is for the disposal of hazardous waste generated from the City’s sewer diversion treatment units and interceptors.
FY 2020-21 Contract Request
Request Amount Account # Total Estimated Contract
Amount
$210,000 54500003.550070 $1,080,000
$150,000 51500001.529440 $750,000
$30,000 50500002.550010 $150,000
$30,000 50500003.550010 $150,000
Total $2,130,000
Award of the contracts requires the following budget changes:
FY 2020-21 Budget Changes
Appropriate Funds
Account Number Amount
54500003.550070 $110,000
Total $110,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. 6 of 6
Prepared By: Thomas Poon, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Initiative (Stericycle)