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CC - CONSENT ITEM: (1) Approval of a Three-Year Agreement with Waste Management Inc. for Processing of Municipal Solid Waste and Construction and Demolition (C&D) Material; (2) Authorization to the City Manager to Approve Two Additional One-Year Options.
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Meeting Date: October 26, 2026
Contact/Dept.: Sean Singletary, Public Works Department/EPO
Phone Number: (310) 253-6457
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [ ] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [ ] No [X]
Public Notification: E-Mail: Meetings and Agendas - City Council (10/22/2026)
Dept Approval Name: Nick Zornes, Acting Public Works Director (10/05/2026)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve a three-year agreement with Waste Management Inc. for processing of Municipal Solid Waste and Construction and Demolition (C&D) material; and (2) authorize the City Manager to approve two additional one-year options.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The City owns and operates a 500 ton per day solid waste and recycling Transfer Station Facility located at 9255 Jefferson Boulevard operating six (6) days a week. The tipping floor is operational between the hours of 4:30 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and from 5:30 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday.
The facility operates with an average daily throughput of 500 tons per day with approximately 65 percent of this inflow comprised of municipal solid waste (MSW), which is standard ‘trash’, and most of the remaining tonnage is made up of recyclable material such as organic waste, inert materials, commingled recyclables, and construction and demolition waste. During Fiscal Year 2025-2026 approximately 62,000 tons of materials were transported from the Transfer Station to various processing sites including Waste Management’s Simi Valley Landfill for municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition (C&D) material, Crown Recycling for organics in Sun Valley, and Potential Industries for recycling in Wilmington.
In December 2018, Council approved an agreement with Waste Management to process the City’s MSW and C&D materials, which will expire on December 31, 2026. The City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 2704 on July 22, 2026 for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal and Processing Services to set up a successor agreement. The RFP sought a vendor to provide pricing to process MSW as well as C&D, recycling, and organics pricing. The City currently pays $42.58 per ton for MSW. Due to various pressures on the refuse market, EPO has been anticipating this price to increase under a new contract. Even though the City’s agreements for other streams are immediately expiring (recycling will expire on November 30, 2027 and organics is processed under an annual purchase order approved by Council), the RFP requested pricing for all four waste streams.
Four proposals were received by submittal deadline of September 24, 2026. Staff reviewed the proposals and ranked them. One proposal was incomplete and two others proposed transporting waste to dumping sites over 120 miles from Culver City, which is financially infeasible under current trucking costs. The remaining proposer, Waste Management, currently provides MSW and C&D processing for Culver City, and submitted acceptable pricing to continue these services, with 5% increases in years two and three:
Waste Management submitted documentation of no major environmental or regulatory concerns with their facilities.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The cost for MSW and C&D processing is currently approximately $3,600,000 annually and will increase with this new contract. Funding of $4,490,000 is included for these services as well as for recycling, organics, tipping fees, e-waste, in the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 within the Environmental Programs and Operations Division’s operating budget in Account No. 20260410.615100 (Transfer Station Admin - Refuse Disposal Services Trash) which can be found on page 527 of the budget book. The budget will be closely monitored and if additional funding is needed, this will be requested in the mid-year budget process. These services are a Refuse Fund (Fund 202) expenditure and are not borne by the General Fund. Funding for subsequent years of the agreement will be requested annually as part of future fiscal year budgets.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
recommended action
MOTIONS
1. Approve a three-year agreement with Waste Management Inc. for processing of Municipal Solid Waste and Construction and Demolition Materials;
2. Authorize the City Manager to approve two additional one-year options;
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.