Belmont directs staff to negotiate with Waste Connections and phase out city dumpster service for small apartments

Council debated and then directed staff to negotiate a new five‑year solid waste and recycling contract with Waste Connections at the June 1 meeting.

Jonathan, who presented the procurement summary, said the city received three bids and staff recommended awarding the contract to Waste Connections as the low bidder if the city's legacy dumpster service to some older apartment complexes is discontinued after a six‑month phase‑out. Jonathan told council that Waste Pro would have been the low bidder if the dumpster service remained in the bid calculations.

Pam Stein, district manager for Waste Connections’ Charlotte operation, described the company’s transition plan: local carts would be sourced from a Charlotte manufacturer and she estimated a deployment timeline of roughly eight to nine days for cart delivery if the contract timeline permits. "We could have the list of addresses... deploy all the carts within eight days or so," Pam said; she and staff estimated about 16,000 carts (about 8,000 trash and 8,000 recycling) would be required for the citywide rollout.

Council members asked detailed operational questions about whether routes or collection days would change (Waste Connections said they were prepared to keep the same routes and service days), how old cans would be retrieved, and how to prevent service gaps during the handover. Waste Pro’s regional vice president, Chip Jingles, urged the council to consider continuity and highlighted his company’s municipal experience.

Councilmember Jim moved and Councilmember Jason seconded a motion that the city manager and city attorney negotiate and enter a contract with Waste Connections, that staff review the existing Waste Pro contract for any exit or termination costs, and that the city phase out its dumpster service to legacy apartment complexes over the next six months. The motion passed unanimously.

Council directed staff to prioritize minimizing disruption to residents during the transition, to notify affected apartment properties well ahead of the phase‑out, and to return to council with the negotiated contract and any material termination findings from the Waste Pro agreement.

Action items recorded from the meeting require staff to complete a legal review of the current contract’s termination provisions and to prepare resident notification materials and a conversion schedule for council review.