A compost heap sits at the Yolo County Central Landfill on County Road 28H near Davis in this undated photo. West Sacramento’s trash and organic waste are taken to the landfill by WM, but the city is considering a change in waste management providers.
Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District
The city of West Sacramento will host a public workshop Wednesday to discuss its trash collection contract before the current agreement expires June 30, 2027.
The workshop, scheduled during the City Council meeting, follows criticism of the city’s process for selecting a new waste hauler. The city’s Environment and Utilities Commission last week considered city staff’s recommendation to switch from WM, its longtime waste hauler, to GreenWaste, a company that scored higher on environmental criteria.
City staff evaluated three proposals for waste management services and recommended GreenWaste, but many speakers at the commission meeting criticized a selection process that included little public participation. Some also said the city placed too little emphasis on how much residents would pay.
The 100-point scoring system used by city staff to evaluate the proposals allocated 18 points to service rates and value, according to a staff report. Some, including WM, said the city should have given more weight to customer rates. When developing its proposal, WM prioritized customer costs, Eric Lynch, area director of sales for WM, told the commission.
Other commenters opposed switching providers because they said they were happy with WM and viewed the change as an unnecessary and potentially costly disruption. The commission declined to recommend approval of the contract, saying more public input was needed.
Following that feedback, the City Council scheduled Wednesday’s workshop to discuss the waste management contract. The council will not vote on the contract Wednesday. City staff is expected to bring the proposal back for consideration at a future meeting.
All three proposals for the 10-year waste management contract included rate increases for residents and businesses, meaning customers would pay more regardless of which company the city selects.
The proposed increases would follow years of rising electricity rates and the City Council’s March decision to increase water and sewer rates.
The Sacramento Bee
Daniel Lempres is a regional accountability reporter at The Sacramento Bee focused on Davis and Yolo County. Before joining The Bee, his investigations appeared in outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.