> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Haulers vie for contracts - URL: https://www.smdp.com/haulers-vie-for-contracts/ - Published: 2007-07-31T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T02:24:13.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Haulers compete to be awarded city garbage contracts* CITY HALL Trash haulers will participate in interviews today and Wednesday to see who should be in charge of collecting and disposing of the city’s refuse for the next 15 years or more. A committee comprised of two city staff members, a representative from both the business and environmental communities and two independent consultants from California will sit down with trash haulers, a group that includes the city’s own Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD), to find out who can offer the best rates and top notch customer service, all while recycling as much refuse as possible. The interviews come more than a year after City Hall completed its initial study on solid waste rates and operations in an effort to equalize rates instead of having residents subsidize commercial collections. “It is an independent review,” said Don Patterson, assistant to the city manager who is overseeing the selection process along with Assistant City Manager Gordon Anderson. “That is why we have four outside members and two internal. We wanted to make sure the process is independent and fair.” Some trash haulers expressed concern about the process given that SWMD is competing alongside them for the contracts. There are two contracts up for grabs. One covers the recycling and disposal of all trash generated in the city, while the other covers the collection of commercial solid waste. Currently there are more than a dozen private companies who collect commercial waste, which contributes to gridlock and poor air quality. The City Council’s goals are to equalize rates; keep the city “clean and green;” increase recycling; minimize impacts on the community and environment by improving efficiency; and enter into long term contracts for secure arrangements and predictable costs. Under options on the table, a private company or city sanitation workers could be responsible for building a new, state-of-the-art transfer station at the City Yards, located just off Cloverfield Boulevard near Interstate 10\. Another option would be closing the facility down completely and transferring all trash and recyclables to another location within Santa Monica or at a site outside the city. That could mean a host of things for residents and businesses, including new rates for trash pickup as well as an increased amount of garbage making its way into the city from other municipalities. One thing is for sure, whatever happens, City Hall will continue to retain ownership over the 10 acres where the current transfer facility sits, along with a recycling center and a closed landfill. The facility is considered by many within City Hall and in the trash disposal industry as a valuable asset given the lack of such sites on the Westside. Currently, the facility is only permitted for 400 tons of trash per day, processing about 300 tons today. That includes refuse, recyclables, yard waste, food waste, cardboard and bulk items from nearly 8,000 residential units, 42,000 multi-family units, and 1,600 commercial accounts. With City Hall planning to consolidate all trash hauling — commercial collection is currently spread out amongst SWMD and private firms — it is estimated that the facility would reach its capacity under the permit. To handle more trash, a new permit would need to be issued. Whoever wins the contract for operation of the facility would be responsible for securing that permit. On top of that, City Hall, under its Sustainable City Plan, requires a diversion rate of 70 percent by the year 2010\. That means of all the garbage collected, 70 percent would have to be recycled or diverted from ending up in a landfill. SWMD currently diverts 67 percent of its trash, however, those in the industry are concerned that reaching the goals set under the Sustainable City Plan could be difficult to maintain. THE PLAYERS For transfer and disposal, Athens Services of the City of Industry will be competing against SWMD and Santa Monica-based Southern California Disposal, which operates its own transfer facility in the City Yards, directly adjacent to the city’s transfer station and recycling center. Athens has been collecting and recycling trash in Southern California for over 50 years and offers a greenwaste recycling program, street and parking lot sweeping services and storage box rental. It currently has long term contracts with Azusa, West Hollywood and South Pasadena, among others. “We provide what we think to be the best service for our customers,” said Eric Herbert, president of Athens, which has offered to build a new transfer station in the City Yards as part of its proposal. “Collection and recycling is our forte and we believe we do an excellent job at that.” Herbert said Athens currently operates two transfer facilities in Los Angeles County. Southern California Disposal has operated since 1913 and provides trash collection, recycling and transfer. They also conduct audits of local businesses to see where they can reduce waste. For commercial collection, Athens will have to face the city again along with Allied Waste Services, the second largest non-hazardous waste hauler in the county, Consolidated Disposal Services, the nation’s third largest, and Looney Bins, a Pacoima based recycler which boasts a recycling rate of 75 percent. Patterson said city staff plans to present the committee’s recommendations to the council in September. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 31, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/073107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)