In 2015, the City awarded a ten-year franchise agreement to Bexar Waste to provide the collection, hauling and disposal of municipal solid waste (Ordinance 15-F-18). In 2017, Bexar Waste was acquired by Republic Services and City Council authorized the reassignment of the franchise agreement to Republic Services (Resolution 17-R-41). The current agreement with Republic Services expires on June 30, 2025.
One of the goals staff had during this process was to look at providing uniform service across the city. Currently, 65% of the residential accounts receive twice-a-week garbage pickup, while the remaining 35% is served with once-a-week pickup. Schertz has this twice-a-week service for a portion of the community, due to its legacy contract. The twice-a-week accounts either set bags on the curb or provide their own small trash container (max 32-gallon). The once-a-week accounts are provided with a 96-gallon poly cart. All addresses receive once-a-week recycling pickup, and most accounts are provided with small container bins (18-gallon). Additionally, each account can receive 12 bulk/brush pickups a year that can be scheduled online through the customer portal. Fall and Spring Clean-Up events are provided twice a year for residents and household hazardous waste items can be dropped off during the last weekend of the clean-up events. Finally, Public Works provides a weekly Curbside Chipping service during the year which can be scheduled through the city’s website. There is a fee of $40 and is applied to the resident’s water bill.
In January 2025, the City engaged a consultant firm, Solid Waste Specialists, who has expertise in assisting cities with procurement of solid waste services. During a workshop at the February 4, 2025, Council meeting, the consultant, along with staff, provided the history of solid waste services, an overview of what services are currently provided, the timeline of the procurement process, and what Council could expect going forward. The consultant reviewed the options that were going to be included in the Request for Proposal (RFP):
- Residential Collection Options
- Solid Waste
- Once a week in 96-gallon cart
- Twice a week in 96-gallon cart
- Recycling Options
- Once a week in 96-gallon cart
- Every other week in 96-gallon cart
- Brush/Bulk Options
- Once a week collection of 3 cubic yards
- Every other week collection of 3 cubic yards
- Optional On Call Household Hazardous Waste collection
- Unusual accumulation collection (special collection larger than allowed for bulk) for a predetermined fee
- Commercial and Roll-Off Collection
- No significant changes to the proposed service – rates to be submitted based on size of container and frequency of collection (same as current contract)
Prior to the release of the procurement solicitation, the proposed franchise agreement was reviewed and approved by the City Attorney. The City released an RFP for solid waste services on February 5, 2025. A mandatory pre-proposal conference was held on February 11, 2025, and representatives from eight waste management contractors attended. A total of four sealed proposals were received by the deadline on March 5, 2025. Proposals were reviewed and scored based on a variety of criteria including qualifications and experience, company operational information, cost, reputation, capability, resources, and proposal methodologies and strategy. The scoring matrix used is included below for Council reference.
| Criteria |
Percent of Total |
| Experience Providing Like-Services to Like-Sized Cities |
7% |
| Financial Strength of Proposer |
5% |
| Strength of Personnel at the Hauling Division |
3% |
| Operational Plan in Narrative Format |
10% |
| TRIR and DART Safety Scores |
3% |
| Transition Plan in Detailed Narrative Format |
15% |
| Disaster Management Plan |
5% |
| Customer Service, Reporting, the use of GPS & Support |
10% |
| Compliance, Clarity of Proposal – Minimal Exceptions to RFP and Contract |
7% |
| Competitive Cost of Proposal |
35% |
After initial review and evaluation of all proposals, the top two ranked respondents were invited to participate in an interview to discuss their proposal and answer staff questions. Interviews were held with Frontier Waste Solutions and Republic Services on March 24, 2025, to give the evaluation committee an opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification prior to making a final recommendation. Staff representatives and key stakeholders from City Management, Finance, Utility Billing and Parks participated in the interview process and provided input on the final selection recommendation.
Per the RFP process, Council can go with staff’s recommendation or can make an alternative selection. Additionally, Council has the ability to reject the scores, dismiss the RFP and redirect staff to negotiate directly with a vendor. This would not be staff’s recommendation, as going through the RFP process gave the vendors the ability to provide their best services at their best price. The evaluation committee recommended Frontier Waste Solutions for the award of a franchise agreement for solid waste services, as they had the highest score and the lowest cost.
Residential trash and recycling fees have remained at the same rate for the past seven years – this is the breakdown of the current cost:
Garbage (for either one-time or two-times per week): $12.41
Recycling one-time per week: $ 2.05
Brush/bulk pick-ups (12x/year) Included in cost
Total Cost: $14.46
Operating costs for waste management, including labor, equipment, fuel, and disposal fees, have increased over the past decade. Considering that a rate increase has not occurred over the past seven years, staff anticipated there was going to be fee increases for both residential and commercial services. Additionally, it’s important to note that under the current contract, residents are currently paying the same but receiving different levels of service.
Attached are the bid tabulation sheet and the price rating sheet summary. While there are several options available, staff recommends the following option at the following cost for residential services:
Garbage one-time per week: $12.73
Recycling every other week: $ 4.37
Bulk/Brush every other week: $ 1.00
Total Cost: $18.10
For those residents that currently have twice-a-week garbage pick-up, set-out rates for this service are 65% on the first day and 35% on the second day. The transition to once-a-week pickup has been occurring in the surrounding communities due to rising costs. As a reminder, Schertz has twice-a-week service for a portion of the community, due to its legacy contract. Staff does not recommend twice-a-week service, as the price for it came in significantly higher and staff is looking to balance the needs of all the residents and the overall financial impacts to them. By switching to a once-a-week service, the twice-a-week residents will receive a 96-gallon cart, which would replace the bags they currently set on the curb and/or the max 32-gallon cart (that they purchase). The consolidation of services to once-a-week automated collection pickup will streamline the collection process, allowing the service provider to operate more efficiently and do so in a safer manner.
For recycling services, most residents have a small 18-gallon bin. Again, as mentioned above, one of the goals of procuring a new solid waste contract is to ensure uniform service is provided across the city. Set out rate is high at 70%, but that can be attributed to the small container. With this new agreement, all households will be provided with a 96-gallon cart. Even with the recommendation of switching to every other week for recycling, the larger container can hold the amount of what would have been set out on a weekly basis (18x2 weeks=36 gallon versus 96 gallon every 2 weeks).
For brush/bulk pick-up, the current level of service is twelve pickups a year – scheduled online through the customer portal. With the proposed option, brush/bulk pickup would be included and picked up every other week (on the same day as recycle). The chipping service would no longer be provided. Public Works staff are currently dedicating 20-30 hours a month to provide this service and with the addition of a more frequent brush pick-up, provided by the vendor, it would free staff up to work on the items they need to be focused on (crack sealing roads, filling potholes, etc.). With the proposed brush pick-up, the limbs shall not exceed four feet in length and not exceed four inches in diameter and must be bundled and tied at the curb. This collection specifically excludes debris resulting from the services of a Commercial Tree Service Provider, but that is something that is already currently in place.
Staff took the following into consideration when making this recommendation:
• Anticipation of increased costs
• Equalize level of service across the city
• Balance the needs of all residents and the financial impact to them
This recommendation also has the lowest overall impact on commercial businesses. Small commercial accounts go from $15.70, $27.08 and $39.34 to $45 for once-a-week pick-up and $90 for twice-a-week pick up. Commercial containers increase by 43% (and recycle containers will be available). Roll-off containers increase 67% for a 20 cubic yard, 41% for a 30 cubic yard and 21% for a 40 cubic yard. Compactor rentals had the largest increase but if a business wants to use it for recycling purposes, they are free to choose a different provider. The vendor will meet with each commercial account to assess their usage and needs.
Staff also understands there may not be a desire to change service levels as proposed above. That being said, if Council desires another option, staff recommends the following:
Garbage one-time per week
Recycling one-time per week
Bulk/Brush every other week
All for a flat fee of $22.00
This option does not change the above-mentioned impact on commercial businesses – it remains the same. Future rate increases on both residential and commercial will be tied to the garbage and trash index and the annual adjustment shall not result in an increase in the Base Rates exceeding the lesser of 1) the percentage increase in the CPI for the twelve-month period or 2) five percent of the then current Base Rate. If the percentage change in the CPI would result in a decrease in the Base Rates, the Base Rates shall remain unchanged for the immediately following contract year.
Regardless of which option Council ultimately selects, staff is aware that we will not make everyone happy. The communication component will be critical moving forward. Staff has developed the framework for a comprehensive trash campaign and once direction is provided, staff will work closely with the vendor to ensure that all communication elements are being utilized before, during, and after implementation.
City staff recommends approval of Ordinance 25-F-014 authorizing the City Manager to execute a 5-year franchise agreement with Frontier Waste Solutions for solid waste services. |
