Claremore approves five-year contract with Waste Management for commercial trash service starting July 1

The Claremore City Council voted to award a five-year contract, with an option to renew for an additional five years, to Waste Management of Oklahoma Inc. to provide commercial and industrial solid-waste collection beginning July 1, 2025.

City staff and a retained solid-waste consultant described the procurement process to the council, saying the request for proposals covered only commercial customers; the city will continue to provide residential collection. George Wheatley, identified in the presentation as the city’s hired solid-waste specialist, said the chosen vendor will supply new carts and roll-off containers and that ‘‘all commercial services within the city will now be handled by the new outsourced contractor.’’

The proposal includes a one-time $150 fee the contractor will charge customers who want Waste Management to remove customer-owned dumpsters; new dumpsters delivered by the contractor are provided at no charge. The contract limits annual rate increases to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ garbage-and-trash index and caps any single-year increase at 5 percent. Council staff said Waste Management submitted the lowest overall price and the highest combined score after written and price evaluations.

Jonah (city staff) and consultant Wheatley described the procurement steps: an RFP issued in December, a pre-bid meeting, four responsive proposals, written scoring by a five-person city committee, pricing analysis by the consultant and finalist interviews with two firms. The council was told the scoring weighted pricing at 35 percent and the written submission at 65 percent.

The contract provides that Waste Management will service more than 552 three-yard customer-owned containers currently recorded and more than 395 95-gallon carts; roll-off sizes larger than the city’s current 16-cubic-yard boxes will be available from the contractor. The contractor will continue to service 21 city facilities at no charge but will remit 10 percent of gross revenues annually to the city related to those accounts, the city said.

Council roll call on the motion was recorded in the meeting transcript as: "Michael? Yes. Cata? Yes. Feldman? Yes. Long? Yes. Olney? Yes. Erwin? Yes." The motion passed.

Supporters of outsourcing said the city’s commercial rates had been ‘‘under market’’ and that contracting would reduce wear on city streets, improve efficiency and avoid multiple private haulers operating in alleys and downtown areas. Staff also said commercial collection had higher workers’ compensation exposure and hiring challenges for CDL drivers.

The council approved the contract after finalist interviews and a staff recommendation; the transcript shows the motion and second were made from the dais but does not identify the mover or seconder by name.