City Trash Contract Extended Six Months

A proposal to extend the city’s trash franchise for as long as six months won approval this week from the City Council.

The amended agreement with Waste Management of Orange County Inc. will be on a month-to-month basis. The existing contract expires June 30.

Council members agreed to the extension to give the city more time to seek bids for the multimillion dollar residential waste disposal contract.

Looking to save money and improve service, the council declared its intention more than two years ago to consider choosing a new waste hauler when its contract with Waste Management expired. Waste Management has hauled trash in Lake Forest since the city incorporated six years ago.

A draft request for proposals from trash companies is being circulated to the public and prospective waste haulers.

The council was to review the document next week, but the workshop was postponed so that council members could have more time to review public comment on the voluminous document.

City officials said they hope to award a new contract by June, but council members said they want to proceed with caution.

Council member Helen Wilson said the city has learned to be careful in planning a possible transition from one trash company to another because of problems in neighboring Mission Viejo last summer.

Mission Viejo switched to a new trash hauler, BFI Industries, in September after 20 years with Waste Management. However, there were immediate trash pickup delays, with some households waiting days for their refuse to be collected.

Mission Viejo officials attributed the delays to BFI’s unfamiliarity with routes.