City Council

(10)\n23-1032\nCOMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR AND MEMBER, ENERGY\nAND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE, relative to terminating the\nRemoving Barriers to Recycling (RBR) Program component of the\nRecycLA solid resources franchise hauling contracts.\nSUBMITS WITHOUT RECOMMENDATION the following\nrecommendations of the City Administrative Officer (CAO):\n1. FIND that the City cannot continue funding the RBR Program.\n2. INSTRUCT the Bureau of Sanitation (BOS) to:\na. Terminate the RBR Program provision of the RecycLA\npersonal services contracts for exclusive franchise\ncommercial and multi-family solid resources collecting and\nhauling for all 11 zones Citywide, encompassing the\nfollowing agreements:\ni. Arakelian Enterprises, Inc. dba Athens Services (C-\n128879)\nii. Consolidated Disposal Service, LLC dba Republic\nServices (C-128880)\niii. Universal Waste Systems, Inc. (UWS) (C-128881)\niv. USA Waste of California, Inc. dba Waste\nManagement (C-128878)\nv. CalMet Services, Inc. (CalMet) (C-128875)\nvi. NASA Services, Inc. (NASA) (C-128876)\nvii. Ware Disposal, Inc. (Ware) (C-128877)\nb. Provide written notice of termination to the RecycLA\nservice providers with termination of the RBR to occur on\nJanuary 31, 2027, upon the anticipated expiration date of\nthe current contracts listed above, with notice to occur at\nleast one calendar year prior to the effective termination\ndate.\nc. Complete all audits of the RBR Program, address any\ndiscrepancies including any reimbursements owed to the\nCity, issue liquidated damages as appropriate, and pursue\nthe resolution of outstanding liquidated damages owed by\ncurrent RecycLA service providers through the RBR\npayment reconciliation process and other means, as\nnecessary, prior to the termination of the contracts on\nJanuary 31, 2027.\nFiscal Impact Statement: The City Administrative Officer (CAO)\nreports that adoption of the above recommendations would activate a\nrequired one-year notice period for RecycLA service providers to\nterminate the RBR Program by January 31, 2027 and could mitigate\ncosts to the Citywide Recycling Trust Fund (CRTF) by up to $2.49\nmillion per month should new waste collection contracts not be in\nplace by February 1, 2027, which may then result in an equal amount\nof savings to the General Fund in reduced subsidies and\nappropriations required to support CRTF obligations in 2026-27.\nAdoption of the above recommendation to instruct the BOS to seek\nany owed reimbursements and resolve outstanding liquidated\ndamages due to the City prior to the expiration of the current RecycLA\ncontracts may result in additional revenue to the CRTF and further\nreduce its reliance on the General Fund, impacts of which are\nunknown at this time.\nFinancial Policies Statement: The CAO reports that the above\nrecommendations pursue compliance with the City's Financial\nPolicies in that, to the extent possible, current operations will be\nfunded by current revenues, and that special funds are to reimburse\nthe General Fund for all direct expenditures and related costs\nprovided to support their programs.