Del Norte Solid Waste Authority directs staff to negotiate Hambro CPI change order, approves Recology rate adjustments

The Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority on March 18 directed staff to begin negotiations on a CPI-based change order with Hambro WSG and approved a separate request from Recology Del Norte for service-fee adjustments tied to the consumer price index and other fee components.

The authority’s action on Hambro’s request instructs staff to negotiate a change order to increase rates in line with CPI changes and to include “consideration for extending the landfill capacity available to Del Norte County,” the director said during the meeting. The board voted unanimously to authorize staff to begin negotiations.

The vote followed the director’s report on the authority’s ongoing five-year permit review and capacity planning. Director Ted Ward told commissioners that the authority is preparing a required five-year review for CalRecycle and needs to demonstrate at least 15 years of disposal capacity as part of that process. “If our relationship for whatever reason with Hambro’s sources, we could potentially hire a different contractor and use that same capacity that has been reserved for Del Norte County,” Ward said. Ward also described the authority’s current disposal arrangement: transfer-station material goes to Dry Creek Landfill (operated by Rogue Valley Disposal), which was recently purchased by Waste Connections, and the capacity arrangement is held by Hambro WSG with the authority as a third‑party beneficiary.

On a separate but related item, the authority approved a Feb. 19 letter from…