Los Angeles city council approved 10-year contracts with seven companies to take part in a waste franchise system that they say is a key part in achieving their goal of a 95% diversion rate by 2025. The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) expects to begin transitioning customers into the system starting July 2017, with full-scale implementation occurring by January 2018. The contracted companies are expected to invest a total of $200 million in recycling infrastructure. The requirements of the agreement are the strictest of their kind, including steep financial penalties and clean fuel mandates for the hundreds of trucks expected to be needed for servicing over 65,000 accounts.
Though industry insiders are concerned about the effects on customer cost and operational efficiency, the franchise system may serve as a model for the rest of the country. In fact, New York officials are following LA's lead with a call for consultant proposals to begin planning their own franchise system. Click here to read the full article from Waste Dive.
