High prices push South County cities to reject trash service proposals.

Earlier this month, the cities of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield and King City rejected three proposals they received for waste hauling services. The main factor was price.

“Everybody was surprised. We thought by combining all together, we would probably get a better, more competitive rate,” says Patrick Matthews, general manager of Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority. (SVSWA, also known as Salinas Valley Recycles, is overseeing the hiring of waste hauling services.)

The rates residents would pay under the bids that came in would be 30 – to 50-percent higher than current rates.

The cities received proposals from Waste Management (currently King City’s and Monterey County’s provider); GreenWaste Recovery, which serves several cities on the Monterey Peninsula; and Recology, based in San Francisco.

Tri-Cities Disposal & Recycling Service, the current waste hauling provider in Gonzales, Soledad and Greenfield, did not bid for the contract. The existing contracts expire on June 30, 2025. For Tri-Cities, 32-gallon garbage cart service runs $29.50; the lowest bidder for the new proposal was GreenWaste at $38.58 per month.

Last year, the four South County cities decided to bid collectively for future contracts, aiming for better prices. The aim was to have a new contract before the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, 2024.

Officials say it’s important to award waste hauling contracts at least one year before operations start, especially if a new operator is selected. Setting up new service routes can take a year, in addition to potentially needing to order new curbside carts and trucks. “Ordering new garbage trucks alone can take nine months to a year, potentially even longer,” Matthews says.

Since the cities rejected all three bids received, their next step is negotiating extensions with the current haulers (Tri-Cities and Waste Management). They may seek contracts independently, rather than collectively.