Daly City to put garbage and recycling contract out to bid

Daly City to offer composting program in new waste contract

by Brendan P. Bartholomew

Daly City plans to put its garbage and recycling concession out to bid, with the goal of adding a composting program and increasing the rate at which apartment dwellers recycle.

Since many Daly City apartment buildings have trash chutes that don't lend themselves to composting or recycling, City Manager Patricia Martel noted that the city and its sanitation partners will need to explore possible solutions, including a centralized means for collecting a building's compost.

Another concern is that Daly City's Mussel Rock Transfer Station is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain due to land movement caused by coastal erosion. Because finding an alternative to Mussel Rock is a separate matter, Martel said the city is likely to issue its request for proposals in two parts, one covering collection services and the other dealing with post-collection services. It's conceivable that different companies might be chosen to handle the two parts, Martel said.

The city's current contract, held by Allied Waste, ends in June 2015. Daly City plans to issue a request for proposals later this month.

A recent City Council meeting was packed with Allied Waste employees worried about losing their jobs and seniority. John Delucchi told the council he's lived in Daly City his whole life and has been a waste handler for 30 years.

"These drivers have served you faithfully," he said. "Don't let them lose their jobs."


Read more...

Submitted by Brendan Bartholomew