Fullerton council orders staff to seek best-and-final offers from six trash haulers after RFP debate

Fullerton's City Council on April 14 directed staff to pursue negotiations with six solid-waste firms as it moves toward selecting a new trash hauler.

The action, passed after public comment and more than an hour of staff briefing and council questions, asks staff to obtain best-and-final offers from EDCO, CR and R Environmental Services (CR&R), Universal Waste Systems, Athens Services, Valley Vista Services and the incumbent, Republic Services, then return with a recommendation. The motion passed on a 3-1 roll call (Council member Jamie Valencia voted aye; Council member Zara voted no; Mayor Pro Tem Dunlap and Mayor Jung voted aye; Council member Charles was logged off when the vote was taken).

City staff framed the meeting around two constraints: the need to comply with CalRecycle's corrective-action-plan (CAP) deadline and new state requirements under SB 1383 that expand organics collection. Director Baez told the council the RFP received nine proposals, all firms were interviewed, and evaluators used 15 criteria — including SB 1383 compliance, service reliability, financial capacity and proposed rates — to produce the rankings staff presented.

Public commenters urged the…