SPSA board authorizes intent to award $200 million waste contract to Commonwealth Sortation

The Southeastern Public Service Authority voted unanimously on Nov. 3, 2025, to authorize an intent to award a waste supply and services agreement (WSSA) to Commonwealth Sortation LLC, a private operator staff say would substantially increase recycling and reduce the volume of waste sent to the regional landfill.

SPSA Executive Director Dennis Bagley told the board the region currently produces about 460,000 tons of municipal solid waste a year and that the proposed agreement would “nearly triple the region's current residential recycling rate” and guarantee a 50% reduction of processable waste. "We're on the verge of taking our landfill capacity from 35 years to 70 years," Bagley said, summarizing staff modeling that would extend landfill life to about 2095 if the WSSA performs as written.

Bagley and staff said the contract would require Commonwealth to process a variety of materials at two primary facilities — referenced in the contract as Frederick and Victory — and would include performance guarantees and liquidated damages if the firm fails to meet agreed diversion rates. Counsel described clarified capacity thresholds for ramp-up periods at the Frederick and Victory sortation sites and added compliance provisions including emergency-response briefings and a renewed letter of credit requirement.

Tim Stewart, CEO of AMP and an affiliate of Commonwealth Sortation, spoke during public comment, calling the project “an example of practical innovation and investment” and saying it would "extend the life of the regional landfill, more than doubling the recycling volume, and diverting over 50% of the material that would otherwise go to the landfill." The board also presented independent reviews: Chesapeake’s consultant (Nitsch Industries LLC) found no fatal flaws, and SCS Engineers’ Bob Gardner described the plan as “generationally significant.”

SPSA staff presented modeled financial impacts and a phased ramp-up schedule. Staff estimated the WSSA would require modest increases in member tip fees compared with continued landfilling: $4 more per ton in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and $9 more per ton in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, with a tip-fee stabilization fund created in August 2025 identified to offset those increases for smaller western member communities during the first two years.

The board’s resolution authorizes issuance of an "intent to award" to Commonwealth and directs that, if several specified conditions are met — including execution of amendments by at least 75% of member communities and expiration or resolution of any procurement protests — SPSA would proceed to execute the WSSA and related documents. The resolution also spells out that western member communities would receive credits from the stabilization fund equal to the estimated increased tip fees for the two specified fiscal years.

Board member Lavonda Graham Williams moved the resolution and Mister McCoy seconded. The board then conducted an individual roll-call vote; all members present voted "Yes," and the motion carried unanimously.

SPSA’s action on Nov. 3 creates an administrative path to a final award but does not itself execute the WSSA; final award is contingent on the conditions listed in the resolution, including member community amendments and resolution of any timely protests. The board also directed staff to make proposal records available in accordance with applicable law and to present any necessary strategic-operating-plan revisions if the WSSA is executed.

Next steps identified by staff include satisfying the resolution’s conditions (member amendments and protest periods) and, if those are met, returning to the board to execute the WSSA and related agreements. The meeting adjourned after the unanimous vote.