Staff Report: Waste Management NRFP Scope

BACKGROUND

• At the Regular Council meeting held on July 21, 2025, Council directed staff to explore options to better manage waste collection in Langford.
• At the Regular Council meeting held on December 15, 2025, staff provided a report on Options for Better Waste Management and Council passed a motion directing staff to:
  1. Engage a consultant to: a. Review and verify the staff recommendation to proceed with a municipally-contracted residential curbside garbage collection service;
     b. Advise and support the public survey and key partner engagement conducted by staff;
     c. If verified, prepare and present a proposed scope for the Municipal Garbage Service Contract to Council for information prior to going to tender; and
  2. Prepare a bylaw to regulate the storage, collection, and disposal of garbage and organic waste in accordance with the CRD’s Solid Waste Management Plan.

COMMENTARY

A municipally-contracted service is a unified solid waste collection model that does not require the City to acquire any land, trucks, or carts. All capital costs, direct customer service, and household billing will all be taken on by the private contractor.

Jurisdictional Scan — High-level Findings

• Service Models: The scan found that half of the CRD municipalities, alongside the RDN, actively manage waste collection through in-house, municipally-contracted or mixed models. The majority of jurisdictions reviewed with populations over 20,000 utilize either a municipally-contracted or in-house collection service.
• Industry Standard Frequencies: For municipalities operating unified models, bi-weekly collection for garbage and a mix of bi-weekly and weekly collection for organics utilizing standardized carts is the prevailing standard.
• Cost Comparisons: Estimated annual costs of a unified model ranges from approximately $200 (RDN) to $390 (Oak Bay) per household. By comparison, households under the City’s open-market subscription model pay varying rates, with bundled private collection services estimated to reach up to $560 annually.
• Operational Impacts: The jurisdictional scan confirmed that municipalities with a single-contractor model experience fewer trucks on the road, which helps mitigate traffic congestion, lower greenhouse gas emissions, limit road network wear and improve overall waste diversion tracking.

Engagement Summary

• A public survey was hosted on the "Let's Chat Langford" platform, receiving 431 completed responses. (Full results attached.) Key findings:
  • Current Satisfaction and Frustrations: Over half of respondents (58%) indicated they are satisfied or very satisfied with their current private waste collection, but common frustrations included high/expensive fees (40%), lack of added benefits such as large item pick-ups (37%), and negative impacts of overlapping private routes causing noise, traffic and excessive road wear (28%).
  • Priorities and Willingness to Pay: Financial considerations are the primary driver for residents, with 57% stating minimizing monthly costs is their highest priority. Written feedback indicated support for a municipally-contracted service if it secured equitable access and a lower annual cost than current payments.
  • Service Preferences: Survey participants are willing to compromise on collection frequency if it yields financial savings, with 65% supporting bi-weekly garbage collection if it is cheaper than weekly service. Respondents prefer volume-based billing (cost depends on selected service/cart size) over a standard flat-rate utility fee. Most preferred cart sizes were 120-litre (medium) for garbage and 80-litre (small) for organics.

Third-Party Validation and Financial Analysis

• The consultant compiled findings and, with staff, developed three waste collection scenarios for financial modelling to estimate potential annual cost per household for comparative and informational purposes. Actual costs and levels of service will be determined via a competitive NRFP process.

Table 1: Scenario Descriptions

The consultant modelled the projected 2027 annual cost for over 10,000 eligible dwellings with six or less units for servicing in Langford across the three scenarios. These projections indicate potential average cost savings for residents compared to the current open-market private subscription model.

Table 2: Estimated Collection Program Costs

Additional Assumptions for the Purposes of the Financial Analysis:

• Operational and Staffing Implications: Scenarios assumed a fully contracted service structure to minimize administrative burden on the City.
• Contract Term: 7 years with options to extend 2 additional years at the end of contract term, as per industry standard.
• Billing and Administration: The private contractor is expected to be entirely responsible for procuring and managing the carts (with capital costs amortized through the collection fees), as well as handling all direct customer service and household billing.
• City Staffing Requirements: The City will require one new contract position over a 12-month term to manage initial transition and oversee contractor compliance for the first year.

The financial models and estimated costs are preliminary projections intended for comparative analysis and should not be considered absolute values.

Next Steps

• Staff will proceed with seeking proposals from qualified contractors through a Negotiated Request for Proposals (NRFP) process.
• The NRFP would target a baseline biweekly level of service for curbside garbage and organics collection, together with a menu of pricing options for increased levels of service with added benefits to choose from (e.g., weekly organics pickup with leaf and yard waste allowed in the green bins; inclusion of large item pickup days during the year).
• The City of Colwood has elected to join Langford’s NRFP process on an open, no-obligation basis to obtain pricing. Langford and Colwood staff would jointly form an internal evaluation committee to review and compare proposals before potential contract negotiations with the preferred proponent.
• Staff would also bring forward a bylaw to regulate the storage, collection, and disposal of garbage and organic waste for Council’s consideration and proceed with Contract Award in late summer/early fall of 2026, with a phased roll-out of the service in 2027.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

None. Potential future financial implications are as indicated in this report.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

None. NRFP and Contract documents will undergo legal reviews.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT

• 2 - Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship.
• 5 - Good Governance.
• 6 - Quality of Life.

OPTIONS

Option 1
THAT Council receive this report for information.

OR Option 2
THAT Council direct staff as follows:

1. __________________;
2. __________________; and
3. _______________.

SUBMITTED BY: Katelyn Balzer, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Public Works

Concurrence: Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development
Concurrence: Leah Stohmann, RPP, MCIP, Director of Community Planning and Development
Concurrence: Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
Concurrence: Marie Watmough, Director of Legislative & Protective Services
Concurrence: Braden Hutchins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
Concurrence: Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Attachments: Let’s Chat Langford Waste Collection Options Review Survey Results

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Langford Waste Collection Review Survey

SURVEY RESPONSE REPORT
19 May 2023 - 12 April 2026
PROJECT NAME: Langford Waste Collection Options Review

The following are the survey questions and summarized results (responses and percentages). Optional/skip counts are noted where provided.

Q1. What type of property do you live in?

Optional question · 429 responses · 2 skipped

Q2. How satisfied are you with your current private waste collection subscription?

Optional question · 430 responses · 1 skipped

Q3. Who is your current private waste collection provider? (If you use multiple providers, list them in the 'Other' section and share details.)

Optional question · 426 responses · 5 skipped

Q4. What curbside services do you currently receive? (Select all that apply)

Optional question · 393 responses · 38 skipped

Q5. What is the approximate amount your household currently pays for private waste (total of garbage, organics (food waste) and seasonal leaf and yard waste) collection?

Optional question · 428 responses · 3 skipped

Q6. Do you experience any challenges or frustrations with the current private-only waste collection model in Langford? (Select all that apply)

Optional question · 420 responses · 11 skipped

Q7. When considering your waste collection service, which is a higher priority for your household?

Optional question · 427 responses · 4 skipped

Q8. What is the maximum annual amount you would be willing to pay for a municipally provided garbage and organics (food waste) collection service?

Optional question · 429 responses · 2 skipped

Q9. Would you prefer a standard flat rate for waste collection charged as a utility, or a system where the cost depends on the level of service you choose (e.g., paying less for a smaller garbage can)?

Optional question · 430 responses · 1 skipped

Q10. If the City transitions to standardized cart sizes with bi-weekly (every other week) garbage collection, what size garbage cart would best meet your household's weekly needs? *The medium size is average for a single-family home with no suites. Image credit: District of Saanich

Optional question · 408 responses · 23 skipped

Q11. If the City transitions to standardized cart sizes with weekly organics (food and yard waste) collection, what size organics cart would best meet your household’s weekly needs? *The medium size is average for a single-family home with no suites. Image credit: District of Saanich

Optional question · 405 responses · 26 skipped

Q12. How frequently would you prefer your household garbage to be collected (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly)?

Optional question · 426 responses · 5 skipped

Q13. Would you support bi-weekly garbage collection if it was cheaper than weekly collection?

Optional question · 425 responses · 6 skipped

Q14. How frequently would you prefer your organics (food waste) to be collected?

Optional question · 419 responses · 12 skipped

Q15. If the City’s contract were to include the addition of seasonal collection of leaf and yard waste, would you use it? If so, how frequently would you prefer it to be collected?

Optional question · 429 responses · 2 skipped

Q16. Do you (select all that apply):

Optional question · 431 responses · 0 skipped

Q17. What neighbourhood do you live in?

Optional question · 410 responses · 21 skipped

Q18. Please indicate your age group:

Optional question · 430 responses · 1 skipped

Q19. How did you find out about this public engagement process?

Optional question · 428 responses · 3 skipped

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