On March 4, 2010, the City Council directed City staff to issue the state-required two-year notice to all solid waste haulers providing services in the City that the City is considering implementation of a comprehensive, citywide, solid waste program. The program currently proposed by City staff consists of volume-based pricing for residential trash service with curbside recycling (unlimited) and yard waste services included in the base fee. The proposed program is similar to a utility (water, sewer, gas, electric, etc.) in that residents would pay for the volume of trash they discard by choosing the size of trash container they want. If residents wanted to pay less for their trash service under the proposed program, they could recycle more to reduce their volume of trash discarded.
During the April 7 and June 9, 2011 City Council meetings, the City Council voted to direct City staff to develop a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the proposed services described above. The City Council also voted on the following details of the proposed program:
- Yard Waste: to be included in the basic RFP services
- Billing and Customer Service: to be handled by the hauler(s)
- Length of Contract: 5 years, with performance penalties and provisions included in the contract
- Carts: three cart options would be offered (small, ~45 gal., medium, ~65 gal., and large, ~95 gal.) to each household...the cost for the cart would increase with the size. One recycling cart (probably the medium size, ~65 gal.) would be offered to each household. An option for a single bag of trash would be offered in place of the smallest cart, if a household chooses to do so.
During the August 11, 2011 City Council meeting, the City Council voted to direct City staff to issue the RFP as drafted. Upon issuance, the RFP will be made available on the City's Bid Opportunities page, which can be found on the City's Main webpage under the "Business with the City" tab.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: Why is this proposed program mandatory?
A: This proposed program is not any more mandatory than current requirements. According to City Code, all residents are currently required to have trash removed from their home. The proposed program allows residents to pay for the amount of trash they discard by choosing the size of trash container they want. Under the proposed program, the smaller trash container chosen, the smaller the fee paid.
Q: Why is the City mandating recycling with this proposed program?
A: The City is not mandating recycling with this proposed program. Residents can choose to recycle or not. The more items recycled, the smaller the trash volume discarded and, subsequently, the smaller the fee paid under the current proposed program. Residents can still take their items to local schools and churches if they want - there is no requirement to use the recycling cart that would be provided with this program.
Q: What happens if the bids come in higher than what residents currently pay?
A: The City Council is very concerned with costs. They have indicated that if the bids come back with higher costs than what the average resident pays, they are not likely to move forward with the proposed program. Currently, Lee's Summit residents who are not included in an HOA contract, pay an average of $16 per month.
Q: Why does the City want to remove competition and drive up costs?
A: This program, if implemented, would be openly bid by private haulers every few years in order to ensure competition between haulers and keep costs as low as possible.
Q: Why not require the haulers to provide curbside recycling to residents instead of implementing this program?
The haulers are currently required, by City Ordinance, to offer curbside recycling to residents, should they ask for it. Price for such a service is determined by the hauler and is in addition to costs for trash service. The only exception to this is residents who live in an HOA that contracts for solid waste services.
Q: What is the anticipated cost per household for the proposed Citywide program?
A: The costs will not be known until the City receives completed bids from interested private haulers. Currently, residents in Lee's Summit pay between approximately $7 and $16+ for trash service (which may or may not include additional services such as curbside recycling and yard waste). Based on regional and national data, when cities contract private haulers to provide citywide solid waste services, the cost per household decreases.
Q: What will it cost the City to implement/monitor this program? How will the City pay for it?
A: The City will not be involved with the billing of the proposed program. Additionally, the City currently has Public Works staff who are assigned to solid waste issues who would oversee this proposed program.
Q: Will the City make money from the proposed program?
A: No. The City will not be involved with the billing of the proposed program.
Q: What is the anticipated dollar amount of the benefits of the program, compared to the costs?
A: While a dollar amount can be assessed for some benefits of the program (such as decreased road maintenance), some benefits (such as neighborhood safety and aesthetics) do not have a quantifiable dollar amount. With regard to road maintenance, the City currently has 5 licensed residential haulers who service Lee's Summit. These haulers are all required to offer trash, curbside recycling, and yard waste services to residents. That equates to as many as 15 trash trucks servicing a residential street per day (in neighborhoods where contracted haulers have not been established). If the City were to contract a single hauler to provide trash, yard waste, and curbside recycling services to the entire City (single-family dwellings), the number of trash trucks servicing a given residential street would decrease from as many as 15 down to 3, which, in turn, would decrease the costs in residential street maintenance by approximately $400,000 annually.
Q: What are the anticipated pros and cons of this proposed program?
A: There are several anticipated pros and few anticipated cons, as follows:
PROS: Residents only pay for trash that is actually disposed of; financial incentives for residents to recycle; anticipated lower costs; increased neighborhood aesthetics; increased neighborhood safety; decreased road maintenance and associated costs; decreased tuck traffic on residential streets; decreased number of collection days in a neighborhood.
CONS: Residents lose choice in hauler; residents lose choice in collection day.
Please check back periodically to learn more about the status of citywide solid waste services in Lee's Summit.
For more information, contact the Environmental Programs Coordinator or call 969-1800.