Newport Coast to name new disposal firm

Newport Beach City Council members on Tuesday will make a second attempt to hire a trash hauler to serve Newport Coast for the next decade, following problems with the first contract award and anonymous mudslinging against the bidders.

Going for a second round of bids apparently saved the city money, but it hasn’t stilled all criticisms of waste disposal firms that want the 4,000-household Newport Coast contract.

The council voted in May to give a $6.1 million trash and recycling contract to Ware Disposal, which submitted the lowest bid the first time. But some council members were concerned that changes to the contract may have given Ware an unfair advantage, so they voted to reconsider. Documents on the safety records of some bidders also were sent anonymously to the city.

Rebidding actually helped the city because waste haulers agreed to better terms and lower costs for the contract, city General Services Director Mark Harmon said.

For example, the city capped inflationary cost increases at 3% instead of 6%, the low bid — this time from CR & R — was at $5.2 million, and the amount of material that must be recycled has been upped to 40% from 30%.

But at least one resident has raised questions about the recycling qualifications of the low bidder.

Harmon recommended CR & R for the original bid because although Ware’s bid was lower, he said, the company didn’t have the required automated, alternative-fuel trucks. He’s again suggesting the council choose CR & R, which prompted Newport Beach resident and political consultant Dave Ellis to point out the company’s record on meeting state recycling mandates.

An Orange County Grand Jury report, issued in June, explored the county’s failure to meet the state goal of 50% diversion of waste, intended to keep recyclable materials out of landfills. Citing 2004 data, the report pointed out cities including Dana Point, Aliso Viejo and Stanton that didn’t meet the 50% requirement.

CR & R ‘s website shows it hauls trash for eight of the cities that the grand jury said fell short in diversion.

Harmon and CR & R Senior Vice President Dean Ruffridge both said it’s up to the cities, not the waste haulers, to come up with a plan to meet the 50% diversion mandate.

“It’s interesting that none of the [grand jury’s] recommendations had anything to do with the haulers,” Harmon said. “It certainly is not saying the haulers of these cities in any way are responsible for the county as a whole not meeting the diversion level.”

Ellis disagreed. “It’s absolutely the responsibility of the haulers — they pick the trash up,” he said. “The grand jury, I think, calls everybody on the carpet.”

CR & R’s Stanton plant already accepts recyclables from homes in Newport Beach, which collects its own trash everywhere but Newport Coast. Harmon said although the percentage of waste diverted will be lower in Newport Coast, the city is now at 57% city-wide and will remain above 50% under the proposed contract.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Newport Beach City Council meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. today

WHERE: 3300 Newport Blvd.

INFO: View the agenda and staff reports