Anacortes council extends Waste Management contract one year, directs staff to negotiate longer-term terms

Anacortes City Council on July 21 approved a one-year extension to the city's residential recyclables and organics collection contract with Waste Management and signaled support for staff to negotiate a longer-term replacement contract.

The council voted to authorize the mayor to sign the amendment extending the current agreement through July 1, 2027, with Waste Management notifying the city it will apply a roughly 6% price increase that will take effect with the renewed term. “So this is an extension of the contract for an additional year,” Public Works Director Andy Rayum told the council, and he recommended approval to allow time for a competitive procurement if the city chose that route.

The extension passed on a motion by Councilmember Walters, seconded by Councilmember Fantini, and carried unanimously. Council members then discussed next steps and — without objection — directed staff to open direct negotiations with Waste Management on a new 10-year contract and to bring proposed contract provisions back to council for approval. Rayum said if negotiations with the incumbent fail, staff would issue a request for proposals (RFP).

Council members pressed staff to consider several issues during negotiations: contract length, the state Recycling and Product Stewardship Reform Act and how its rulemaking may change costs and responsibilities for recycling, ways to expand or make organics service more accessible without forcing large containers on small households, options to reduce contamination (including customer penalties), whether billing should remain handled by the city or moved to the hauler, and the frequency of collections. “There is this recycling reform act at the state level that promises to change some things,” Rayum said; Councilmember Walters said the law could shift costs to producers over coming years.

Councilmember Hubick emphasized an April 1, 2027, deadline in state law for year-round organics collection availability for jurisdictions with solid-waste plans and urged staff to seek creative solutions that avoid obligating small households to oversized containers.

Staff noted regional competition for haulers is limited and that direct negotiation could save city staff time, but any negotiated long-term contract would return to council for final approval. The council did not adopt additional contractual terms at the meeting; the direction was to negotiate and report back.

Ending: Council members said they expect additional public discussion and committee review as staff returns with draft contract language and options for rate implementation and billing changes.