Future Collection Contract

Historical and guiding documents for the actions taken by the City in the process of evaluating what is needed in the next solid waste contract.
Photo of garbage truck dumping trash into itself

Early Planning

The next solid waste contract must be in place by January 1, 2021, when the current contract expires. The City can pursue starting the contract early if the contractor is able to do so.

Why so long in advance? The company that wins the bid for collection will need more than a year to assemble all of the equipment needed for collection. This will include purchasing up to 500,000 carts which could cost up to $25 million. Up to 100 collection trucks will be needed at $350,000 each for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles Omaha will be looking for, so there is another $35 million.

The resources linked to this page are the guiding documents and actions taken by the City in the process of evaluating what is needed in the next solid waste contract.

City Council Action

The solid waste collection contract will be enacted as an ordinance.  Ordinances require three readings/meetings: 1) introduction, 2) public hearing, and 3) vote.  Council meetings are at 2pm in the Legislative Chambers of the Douglas-Omaha Civic Center, 1819 Farnam Street.  Council meetings are streamed live from the feed provided to COX channel 18 and CentruryLink channel 69.

Live streams and recordings of council meetings are available at https://cityclerk.cityofomaha.org/city-council/videos

Round 1

First Reading — Introduction, April 16, 2019

City Council Agenda, April 16, 2019 13 pages
The Mayor’s recommendation is introduced as ordinance 41801, found on page 13 as agenda item 29.
Mayor’s Submittal to Council 303 pages
The Mayor’s two page introductory letter, three page ordinance, and FCC’s 293 bid submittal.

Second Reading — Public Hearing, April 23, 2019

City Council Agenda, April 23, 2019 16 pages
The public hearing of ordinance 41801, awarding the solid waste collection contract to FCC, found on page 9 as agenda item 44.

Final Reading — Vote, April 30, 2019 Held over to June 4, 2019

City Council Agenda, April 30, 2019 21 pages
The scheduled vote on ordinance 41801, awarding the solid waste collection contract to FCC, found on page 11 as agenda item 50.

Mayor Stothert submitted a request that council layover this agenda item to allow time for an independent review of the West Central Sanitation bid.  To read the Mayor’s letter to council, click here.

Final Reading — Vote, June 4, 2019 (Held over from April 30, 2019)

City Council Agenda, June 4, 2019 17 pages
The vote on ordinance 41801, awarding the solid waste collection contract to FCC, found on page 2 as agenda item 7.

The Council voted to deny the recommendation. The bid packages now return to the Public Works Department and the Administration where it may be re-introduced, modified and re-introduced, or restarted with a new bid.

City Council DeliberatingMayor Stothert Addressing Council

Round 2

First Reading — Re-introduction, July 23, 2019

City Council Agenda, July 23, 2019 15 pages
The Mayor’s recommendation is introduced as ordinance 41925, found on page 14 as agenda item 67.
Mayor’s Submittal to Council 6 pages
The Mayor’s two page introductory letter, and four page ordinance.
Mayor’s Letter to Council, dated July 17, 2019 2 pages
Outlines why the bid is being re-submitted, and the urgency of a decision.
Letter to Council from Public Works Director Stubbe, dated July 17, 2019 2 pages
Outlines why the FCC bid was selected, and the reasons for selecting the two cart system.
Amendment of the Whole to substitute the FCC, three cart system bid 4 pages
Presented as an option to the Council.
Amendment of the Whole to substitute the West Central Sanitation, two cart system bid 4 pages
Presented as an option to the Council.
Amendment of the Whole to substitute the West Central Sanitation, three cart system bid 4 pages
Presented as an option to the Council.

Second Reading — Public Hearing, August 13, 2019

City Council Agenda, August 13, 2019 12 pages
The public hearing of ordinance 41925, awarding the solid waste collection contract, found on page 7 as agenda item 34.

  • It includes the letters from the Mayor and Public Works Director to Council, and the three separate possible amendments listed under the first reading above.
  • Also on the agenda is the First Reading for Ordinance 41942, to collect yardwaste during the spring and fall peak seasons.  Page 12, agenda item 53.

Final Reading — Vote, August 20, 2019 Delayed to August 27, 2019

City Council Agenda, August 27, 2019 16 pages

The vote on ordinance 41925, awarding the solid waste collection contract to FCC, found on page 10 as agenda item 58.Additional agenda item 59, changes the the number of inhabitants that allows residents to exceed the standard capacity service.Additional agenda item 60, adds 8 to 12 weeks of yardwaste collection, split between spring and fall.

Approved! —

Primary Contract

  • 10 year collection contract. Potential for two additional five year extensions.
  • Contractor, FCC Environmental
  • Two cart collection system.  One 96-gallon cart for recycling, another 96-gallon cart for all waste (garbage and yardwaste)
  • Recycling collected every other week
  • Carts are provided by the contractor, but owned by the City
  • Residents may lease an additional cart from FCC if they need more capacity
  • Annual cost approximately $22.7 million

Supplemental Yardwaste Contract

  • 5 year collection contract, with an additional five year extension available.
  • Contractor, FCC Environmental
  • During 4 to 6 weeks in the spring and 4 to 6 weeks in the fall additional yardwaste will be collected when placed in paper yardwaste bags and out for collection on the regular collection day.
  • Yardwaste collected will go to Oma-Gro and be composted
  • Annual cost approximately $1.5 million

Bid Recommendation

FCC recommendation news conferenceAt a 1:15pm news conference on April 9, 2019, Mayor Stothert announced the recommendation she is forwarding to the City Council for approval.

The Mayor accepted the advice of the working group that reviewed all four bids that were received.  The working group selected FCC as the collection company, and the two cart system as the type of collection to provide.

Additional information is in the documents linked below.

Mayor’s News Release on the Bid Recommendation 2 pages
Issued 04-9-2019
Bid Evaluation and Review Document 5 pages
Issued 04-9-2019
Independent Review of the West Central Sanitation Bid
Following the April 30 City Council meeting, Mayor Stothert engaged HDR of Omaha to conduct an independent review of the West Central Sanitation bid.
Issued 05-21-2019
Mayor’s Letter to Council
The letter asks the council to define which bid would be acceptable and what services the contract should provide. Further, the letter relates the urgency in selecting a contractor so they will be prepared to begin collections.
Issued 06-11-2019

Bid Opening

Bids from four companies were received and opened at 11:00am on January 30, 2019.  The City will now review the bids and a recommendation will be made to the Mayor of the lowest and best responsible bid.

The bids were let on October 24, 2018.  A pre-bid meeting for all potential bidders was held on November 9, 2018.  Questions were received from bidders and five contract addenda were issued.

Mayor’s New Release Following the Bid Opening, Seasonal Yardwaste Collection 1 page
Issued 07-31-2019
Mayor’s News Release on the Bid Opening3 pages
Issued 1-30-2019
Mayor’s News Release following Issuance of Request for Bid 3 pages
Issued 10-24-2018
Frequently Asked Questions for the Request for Bid 3 pages
Issued 10-24-2018

Bid Review

Video Compares the Bid Options and Other Aspects of the Bid 4:30 minutes
Released 2-7-2019

Studies, Surveys & Media Updates

Because of Waste Management’s difficulty in recruiting an adequate number of drivers during 2015 and 2016, the Mayor and City Council determined that some important aspects of solid waste collection needed to be studied prior to the next contract.

The Public Works Department hired SCS Engineers to conduct two studies and a public opinion survey.

Benchmark Study Report Final v1.0 26 pages
The goal of this study was to give the City a reasonable idea of what options might be available or need to be evaluated for the next solid waste contract. This study thoroughly examined two local communities and 11 regional cities of comparable size to Omaha.
Yardwaste Study Report Final v1.0 54 pages
The largest and most in-depth of the studies. This study was to quantify the economic and environmental aspects of dealing with yardwaste collection and disposal in a variety of ways. Predominantly there are two scenarios that quantify the economic and environmental aspects and three additional variation scenarios considered.
Public Opinion Survey Summary Letter Final v1.0 Includes Survey Script 15 pages
To gauge the public’s satisfaction with the current collection contract and assess the public’s willingness to accept change, a telephone survey was conducted. The public opinion survey contacted a statistically accurate sample of 550 households across the city.
Public Opinion Survey Final v1.0 inclusive with raw data 236 pages
City Council Presentation by SCS 22 pages
In January, 2017, SCS Engineers presented the findings of the two studies and the public opinion survey to the City Council.
Request for Bid Development Update 2 pages
On March 6, 2018, SCS Engineers and Public Works briefed the Mayor and Council regarding development of the Request for Bid. This briefing document was provided to the media at a news conference that same day.

Pilot

Knowing of the City’s interest in changing to a cart collection system in the next contract, Waste Management offered to provide the equipment so Omaha could see first hand how a cart collection system with automated side load trucks would work. This offer was made without any financial compensation to Waste Management and no commitment by the City.

The City and Waste Management agreed on areas of 500 homes in each of the collection days making a total of 2,500 homes in the automated collection pilot. The areas selected represent the vast majority of streets and situations that the contractor would encounter when collecting the whole city.

Videos of the Automated Side Load Pilot in Omaha are available on YouTube, click here.

 

Post Pilot Public Opinion Survey Summary Letter Final v1.0 Includes Survey Script 8 pages

After using carts for collection and experiencing automated collection for five months, a telephone survey was conducted. The public opinion survey contacted a statistically accurate sample of 200 households within the pilot areas.
Post Pilot Public Opinion Survey Final v1.0 inclusive with raw data 95 pages
Archived Pilot Website (Opens in a new tab)
During the pilot, residents in the pilot areas were directed to this website with information specifically for them. The pilot website is archived as it was when the pilot finished. The information on the pilot webpage only applied to the pilot and does not apply to any current collection.

Comments

The Mayor’s hotline is collecting input from residents regarding the next solid waste collection contract. If you have comments, please contact the Mayor’s hotline either by phone at 402-444-5555, or by e-mail at hotline@cityofomaha.org.

SCS Engineers has assisted the City in developing, and writing the new contract (Request for Bid) and evaluating the bids.

Media Coverage

Additional Resources

Open Houses — Archive

Please Come!

Four open houses will help introduce the public to the contract options being looked at and the type of equipment being considered. It will be an opportunity to get clarification of the contract process.

At the open houses, eight posters will present the highlights of what has been studied and the information collected. A Public Works staff member or an SCS Engineers employee will be stationed at each poster board to answer questions.

You may click on the icon next to each study or survey listed below to review the posters before the open house. Be aware that these are large format, 3 feet by 4 feet poster boards and will not reproduce well on most home printers.

The studies and information collected was also synopsized in the July 2017 issue of WASTELINE. You may click on the W icon next to each study or survey listed below to read the WASTELINE article. This will be a single article, and not the full issue of WASTELINE. To review the complete issue, click here. Be aware that WASTELINE is a large format publication and will not reproduce well on a home printer.

Open House Schedule

  • No formal presentations.
  • Come at any time during the open house.
  • All open houses will provide the same information.
  • A survey/comment card will be distributed at each open house.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017, 5:30PM to 7:30PM    Nathan Hale Middle School, 6143 Whitmore Street
Thursday, July 27, 2017, 5:30PM to 7:30PM    Elkhorn Ridge Middle School, 17880 Marcy Street
Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 5:30PM to 7:30PM    Columbus Park Community Center, 1515 South 24th Street
Thursday, August 3, 2017, 5:30PM to 7:30PM    Westside Community Conference Center, 3534 South 108th Street

Omaha Home & Garden Expo — Archive

We have sample carts at the Omaha Home & Garden Expo. You may come “kick the tires” and try them out and ask questions about the next contract.

The Expo is February 8, 9, 10, & 11, 2018, at the CenturyLink Center. For more info about the show, click here.

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