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Committee moves new recycling-processing contract with Waste Management; SPU says Solid Waste Fund will absorb higher processing costs
Summary
Seattle Public Utilities presented a new residential recycling-processing contract selection (Waste Management), saying processing costs will rise (estimated $6.4M in 2027) but will be absorbed by the Solid Waste Fund and not require a rate increase; committee moved the bill to full council with councilmembers reserving possible amendments on wage and anti-displacement language.
Seattle Public Utilities told the Governance & Utilities Committee on June 11 that Waste Management of Washington (WM) was selected through an RFP process to provide residential recycling-processing services under Council Bill 121221 and that the new contract reflects industry changes requiring more advanced processing and higher costs.
Sally Hulsmann, SPU’s solid-waste manager, said the RFP (issued April 2025) drew responses from two firms and that Waste Management scored highest on the technical and price criteria. Hulsmann said the new contract is estimated to cost approximately $6.4 million in 2027, up from about $1.4 million in 2025, and that the department anticipates absorbing the increase in the Solid Waste Fund without a rate increase to customers.
Hulsmann described industry drivers for the increased processing cost: a more complex curbside material mix (more and varied plastics), higher market demand for cleaner commodity streams since the 2018 changes in global recycling markets, and the need for automation and other processing investments. She said the state’s Recycling Product Stewardship law will begin reimbursing packaging costs in 2030, ramping to higher reimbursement rates through 2032.
The presentation explained new contract features: stronger accountability and transparency requirements (reporting where commodities are marketed), contingency processing options, and clauses that allow the city to curtail relationships with marketing partners found not to meet responsible-practice standards. Hulsmann also said Waste Management met the city’s wage and contracting guidelines; SPU noted WM and Republic both employ union members in Seattle.
Public comment earlier in the meeting raised workforce concerns. Bailey Burgess of Teamsters Council 28 had urged inclusion of prevailing-wage protections and anti-displacement language in the waste-management procurement, saying the union represents hundreds of contracted solid-waste workers who provide services to the city and that contracts should protect wages and worker continuity.
Councilmembers asked about the evaluation score disparity between WM and Republic, alley versus curbside collection complications, and the industrial recycling stream. SPU said WM has recently invested in improved mixed-recycling facilities and automation and that industry-wide investments by all processors will continue under the new statewide reforms.
Councilmember Strauss indicated he would move the contract out of committee and noted he might offer an amendment at full council related to prevailing-wage or anti-displacement provisions. The committee voted to move CB 121221 out of committee to full council; the motion carried on a committee roll call vote with the members present voting in favor.
No final full-council appropriation vote on the processing contract was recorded in the committee transcript; SPU said the Solid Waste Fund will absorb the near-term cost increase and staff described the contractual protections and reporting measures that will govern the contractor relationship.
