When the Hermosa Beach City Council picks a trash hauler, it will have to decide between a pay-as-you-throw system or the current system in which residents can throw out an unlimited amount for a flat fee.
The City Council plans to make a decision on a waste hauler after a public hearing at its next meeting on Tuesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. At a workshop to review the proposals last week, the council heard from three solid waste disposers that want the city’s business for the next seven years.
The city had asked companies to bid on two different methods of collecting trash.
Under the “single stream” plan, residents put out their own trash cans and throw away any amount for a fixed rate, as they do now. The garbage and recyclables would be collected together and sorted at a recovery facility.
Under the “cart” plan, residents would be charged by the amount of trash thrown out, which would be measured by the size of the refuse containers. Residents would have the option of 35-, 64- or 95-gallon carts. Recyclables and refuse would be collected separately.
Under either residential collection plan, residents could join an optional green waste program.
Waste Management’s bids were too high, and city staff did not ask the company to make a presentation, effectively eliminating Waste Management from consideration, which left three in the running: Consolidated Services, Crown Disposal, Inc. and Athens Services.
Athens submitted the lowest bid for the “single stream” system, with a monthly cost to a homeowner at $10.92. The current trash collection service provided by Consolidated costs $11.57 per month.
Crown submitted the lowest bid for the “cart” system: $6.79 for a 35-gallon container; $10.79 for the standard 64-gallon container; and $14.79 for a 95-gallon container.
Residents can see their trash bills decrease if Athens is selected for the “single stream,” or if they use a small container for refuse under the “cart” system. However, overall costs to the city as a whole are expected to increase between 1 and 26 percent, depending upon which plan and company is selected, according to HF&H, the consulting firm working with the city during the selection process.
Community Director Ken Robertson said the trash contract encompasses residential fees, commercial fees and fees for temporary dumpsters often used for renovation. Each company submitted a plan for downtown commercial trash collection as well.
Laith Ezzet of HF&H said that Hermosa Beach currently enjoys one of the lowest rates for trash pickup in L.A. County. The last comprehensive trash fee study conducted in L.A. County was in 2009, and Hermosa Beach ranked third lowest out of 80 communities, Ezzet said.
No matter which plan and company is selected, the trash rate in Hermosa Beach “would still be favorable compared to overall rates in L.A. County,” Ezzet said.
After the City Council makes its selection from among the two plans and three companies, city staff will bring back to the council a negotiated agreement for review and approval. Services under the new agreement would begin on Jan. 1, 2013 and last seven years with an option for two more. The contract is worth more than $2 million a year.
Crown proposed diverting more recyleables away from the landfill than any one else, up to 65 percent. Consolidated, the city’s current waste hauler, would eliminate transition worries, company officials said.
Crown had the highest grade from its references, although Crown supplied the fewest number of references, five. Athens and Consolidated submitted 16 and 13 references, respectively.
At last week’s study session on the issue, several students from Valley and View schools spoke in favor of the “cart” system, after which more than a dozen residents spoke in favor of one of the companies.
Clayton Shephard told the City Council that he, like other residents, has built an enclosure for his trash containers that might not be big enough for the large trash containers under a “cart” system. He favored sticking with Consolidated.
“It works, and it is economically predictable,” Shepherd said.
Speaking in favor of Crown, Pat Love said, “Hermosa Beach residents are an eco-friendly green city.”
City Council members who visit any of the waste haulers’ facilities will disclose that interaction at the public hearing on July 24, said city attorney Michael Jenkins.
