RFP2026-01 Residential Solid Waste Service

Mulberry, Georgia 30019
The City, at its sole discretion, may short-list contractors that are deemed to
best meet the City's requirements, taking into consideration all criteria listed in
the RFP. Negotiations may be conducted and may take place in person, via
telephone or by teleconference with the most qualified firm as identified by the
City or, if short-listing occurs, with all of the short-listed proposers. Proposers
that participate in the negotiations may be given an opportunity to submit their
best and final offers. Any formal presentation or interview will be at the
Proposer's expense and at the City's designated location. The City of Mulberry
requires pricing to remain firm for the duration of the contract. Failure to hold
firm pricing for the duration of the contract will be sufficient cause for the City
to declare a proposal non-responsive.
1.2 Schedule
This Request for Proposals is scheduled as follows:
September 22, 2026 Release of RFP
October 6, 2026 Deadline for written questions
October 9, 2026 Target date for responses and addenda
October 22, 2026, 3:00 P.M. Eastern Time Proposals due
November 5, 2026 Anticipated contract award
1.3 Communications with Staff
From the issue date of the solicitation document and until a Contractor is selected and the
selection is made public, Vendors are not allowed to communicate for any reason with any
City staff except through the City personnel named in this document or during the
bidder's/offeror's conference, or as provided for existing contracts.
For violation of this provision, the City may reject any bid/proposal of the offending
bidder/offeror or initiate suspension/debarment proceeding with respect to the offending
vendor or bidder/offeror.
1.4 Questions & Answers
All questions concerning this RFP must be submitted via email or writing to the City's City
Manager:
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Jamieson Palmer
City of Mulberry,
2078 Teron Trace
Suite 100
Mulberry, Georgia 30019
Jamie.Palmer@mulberryga.gov
No questions other than written will be accepted. Answers to written questions along with
necessary corrections or additions thereto, will be sent to all responding vendors in an email
notification.
The deadline for submitting written questions is October 6, 2026. The City anticipates issuing
responses and any necessary addenda by October 9, 2026.
1.5 Definitions
Refer to Exhibit C for Definitions.
1.6 Sub-Contracting
No portion of the work shall be subcontracted without prior written consent of the City of
Mulberry. In the event that the contractor desires to subcontract any of the elements of the
work specified herein, the proposing contractor shall furnish the names, qualifications,
experience, and previous working relationships with their proposed subcontractors.
The Contractor shall remain fully liable and responsible for all work performed by its
subcontractors and for their compliance with every requirement of the contract.
1.7 Equal Employment Opportunity
The City of Mulberry is an equal opportunity employer. The City endeavors to do business
with firms that share its commitment to equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the
basis of any status protected by applicable law.
1.8 Contract Term
one (1) December 31The initial contract term is three (3) years, beginning January 1, 2027,
and ending December 31, 2029. The City may exercise up to two (2) additional one-year
renewal terms, for a maximum contract period of five (5) consecutive years. Each renewal is
subject to O.C.G.A. 36-60-13 annual appropriation by the City Council and satisfactory
Contractor performance.
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The contract will be subject to the terms and conditions included in the Service Agreement.
The City of Mulberry reserves the right to cancel with cause, due to nonperformance or
violation of contract terms.
This Contract shall not be deemed to create a debt of the City for the payment of any sum
beyond the fiscal year in which the budget appropriations have been made. If an annual
budget appropriation is not made by City Council, the contract is deemed to be terminated
between all parties without recourse related to non-appropriation.
2.0 SCOPE OF WORK
2.1 Type of Good/Service and Objectives:
The City of Mulberry is seeking to secure qualified firms to provide solid waste collection,
disposal recycling, and yard waste services for the City of Mulberry's residential
customers.
2.2 Service Overview
The scope of work to be performed shall meet or exceed the following:
The City intends to place the residential sanitation service fee on the annual property tax bill,
subject to completion of an agreement with the appropriate Gwinnett County office. Under
that model, the City will provide the Contractor with the service-address register and will pay
the Contractor based on the number of active Residential Units shown on the register. If the
tax-bill arrangement is not available at service commencement, the Contractor shall provide
direct customer billing and collection services. Proposers shall describe their capability and
pricing for both billing models. The Contractor shall remain the primary customer-service
contact and shall maintain a toll-free or local telephone line staffed by responsible personnel
from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
All complaints shall be made directly to the Contractor. The Contractor shall give all
complaints prompt and courteous attention. In the case of an alleged missed schedule
collection, the Contractor shall investigate and if such allegations are verified, shall arrange
for collection within twenty-four (24) hours of the time the complaint was received.
The Contractor shall maintain forms or a log indicating the time a complaint or request is
received, the nature of the complaint or request, and the disposition of same. Such records
shall be available for the City's inspection at all times during normal working hours.
The City will provide an initial service-address list and annual updates. The Contractor shall
promptly report new, inactive, or corrected service locations. Under City billing, the
Contractor will invoice the City monthly using the active-unit count approved by the City.
Under direct billing, the Contractor will bill each active Residential Unit and may not suspend
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base service solely because a property is rented or temporarily unoccupied unless authorized
by the City.
The Contractor will designate a service representative to the City of Mulberry.
The successful contractor shall have sole and exclusive right to provide residential solid
waste collection and recycling services for and on behalf of the City. This RFP/Contract shall
not constitute a franchise or exclusive right to collect solid waste from commercial,
institutional and industrial units within the City.
The Contractor shall deliver all required garbage and recycling carts to Residential Units no
later than December 31, 2026. All carts will remain the property of the Contractor during and
after the contract term.
Quarterly reports shall be provided to the city with a listing of the tonnage of all residential
waste and recycling collected pursuant to the city's sanitation ordinance.
2.3 Service Specifications
Contractors shall provide bids on solid waste collection, recycling, and yard waste as follows:
Contractor shall notify all customers about the "scheduled day of service" and provide each
customer that receives a Roll Out Cart and Recycling Cart with a notice card and a
Contractor-provided and City-approved brochure describing the operations of the service and
the requirements for each Roll Out Cart user including items that may not be included for
pickup, roughly 13,100. The Contractor shall provide once-per-week automated curbside
collection of residential household garbage from all Residential Units in the City. Each
Residential Unit shall receive one (1) ninety-five (95) gallon garbage cart. Additional carts
may be offered at the unit price stated in the proposal. Material placed outside an approved
garbage cart is not part of the required base service. The Contractor shall provide scheduled
collection of up to two (2) eligible bulky-waste items per Residential Unit per week when
requested in advance. The Contractor may bill the resident directly for additional bulky items
at the rates stated in the proposal. Proposers may also submit a separately priced alternative
for all bulky-waste service to be scheduled and billed directly to participating residents.
The Contractor shall provide once-per-week curbside collection of recyclable materials on
the same day as household garbage. Recyclables shall be placed unsorted in a Contractor-
provided sixty-four (64) or sixty-five (65) gallon recycling cart. The Contractor shall identify
contamination with an explanatory tag or notice and shall handle recyclable materials in
accordance with its approved processing program. The proposal shall identify accepted
materials, processing location, contamination procedures, and any conditions under which a
material would be temporarily suspended. Any suspension requires the City's prior written
approval and resident notice.
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Approved Containers shall be placed in a location that is readily accessible to the Contractor
and its equipment, not to exceed five (5) feet from the curb or edge of the traveled portion of
road or street. The City will aid the Contractor in resolving problems of Cart location for
servicing.
The Contractor shall be responsible for sorting, handling, processing, storage, and
marketing of the Recyclable Materials. The Contractor shall ensure that the Recyclable
Materials collected are recycled for reuse and shall prevent the material from being
deposited in any landfill. Should the market for a recyclable material covered by the terms of
this Contract/Bid collapse and render the product worthless (i.e. - local recycling
processors will not accept the material without charge), the collection of such recyclable
material shall be suspended until the markets improve unless the City is willing to
reimburse Contractor for marketing the materials at a negative value.
The Contractor shall maintain records on the weight of Recyclable Materials collected by
type. The Contractor also shall maintain records on the set out rate (percentage of eligible
households which put out a container on each collection day) and shall furnish an accurate
estimate of the participation rate (percentage of eligible households which set out a container
at least once per month). These records shall be furnished to the City on a monthly basis.
Monthly and year-to-date information shall be included in each report.
The Contractor shall maintain records on the weight of MSW collected. These records shall be
furnished to the City on a monthly basis. Monthly and year-to-date information shall be included
in each report.
Backdoor service shall be provided, at no additional charge, to residents approved by the City
when no member of the household is physically capable of placing carts at the curb. Proposers
shall state any assumptions used to price this service and may identify a reasonable proposed cap
or per-location price for City consideration.
The Contractor shall provide an adequate number of vehicles for regular collection services.
All vehicles and other equipment shall be kept in good repair appearance and in a sanitary
condition. Each vehicle shall have clearly visible on each side the identity and telephone
number of the Contractor. All Municipal Solid Waste hauled by the Contractor shall be so
contained, tied, covered or enclosed such that leaking, spilling or blowing are prevented.
The services described herein do not include the collection and disposal of any increased
volume of waste resulting from a flood, hurricane or similar or different acts of God over
which the Contractor has no control. In the event of such a flood, hurricane or other acts of
God, Contractor and the City shall negotiate the payment to be made to Contractor for
additional services, if the Contractor and City agree that the increased volume is to be
handled by the Contractor. Further, if the City and Contractor reach such agreement, the City
shall grant the Contractor variances in routes and schedules as deemed necessary by the
Contractor.
2.4 Approved Containers
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Garbage and allowable solid waste shall be stored in approved Contractor-provided carts as
described in Exhibit C. The Contractor is not required to collect bags or other material placed
outside the garbage cart. Yard waste is not part of the automatic weekly base service and
shall be handled only through the optional on-call service described in Section 2.5.
2.5 Trash and Yard Waste Requirements
Yard-waste collection shall be offered as an elective, on-call service scheduled directly by
the resident and billed separately by the Contractor. The proposal shall state the per-pickup
or subscription rate, collection frequency, material-preparation limits, and maximum
quantity. At a minimum, leaves and small trimmings must be bagged, and limbs must be
cut to lengths of four (4) feet or less and bundled. Construction debris, contractor-generated
debris, and material generated by a professional tree service are excluded.
Trash collection will be located as provided for in Section 2.3, so that the Contractor will
have adequate access to trash.
The Contractor will notify the City Manager, or his designee should it encounter problems
with compliance to any of the provisions.
The Contractor will notify the City Manager, or his designee should it encounter problems
with compliance with the aforesaid sections.
The method of trash collection will be uniform across the City.
2.6 Extraordinary Waste Materials
Hazardous wastes, body wastes, abandoned vehicles, vehicle parts, construction and
demolition waste, tires, batteries, paints, oils, chemicals of any kind, rocks, sand, gravel,
dirt, logs, carpet, medical waste, Large equipment and their parts, Freon containing
devices, devices containing gasoline and/or propane, and dead animals will not be collected
by the Contractor under the terms of this RFP/Contract.
2.7 Newly Developed and Annexed Areas
The Contractor will, within thirty (30) days or less of notification by the City, provide
solid waste collection services of the same frequency and quality required by the
Contractor to newly developed and annexed areas. As new homes are constructed and
occupied in the City, the Contractor shall, after proper notification by the City, provide
solid waste services as required by the Contract on the next scheduled day of collection
following notification. The Contractor shall be responsible for notifying the City of all
locations being serviced which do not appear on the billing register.
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2.8 Collection Service Schedule: Hours and Days of Operation
The services to be provided by the Contractor shall be for once per week curbside collection
of residential household garbage (MSW) from all Residential Units located in the City.
Additionally, Contractor shall provide once a week curbside collection of Recyclable
Materials.
Residential route collection shall not begin prior to 7:00 a.m. each day or continue after 7:00
p.m. Exceptions to collection hours shall be affected only upon the mutual agreement of the
City and Contractor, or when Contractor reasonably determines an exception is necessary in
order to complete collection on an existing collection route due to unusual circumstances. The
Contractor may elect to observe the following holidays:
New Year's Day Independence Day
MLK Day Labor Day
President's Day Columbus Day
Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day
Juneteenth Day Christmas Day
The Contractor may decide to observe a holiday by suspending and delaying the pickup day.
The Contractor shall be responsible for publicizing (and the expense of publishing) any
changes in collection schedules due to holiday observance. Proper publicizing will include the
placement of advertisements or public service announcements serving the affected area and
notice to the City Manager or his designee.
Contractor shall submit a map designating the collection routes with days of pick up to the City
Manager or his designee for approval which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Any
changes to the route shall also be submitted to the City Manager or his designee for approval
which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
2.9 Landfill/Disposal Site(s)
The proposal shall identify each transfer, recycling, processing, and disposal facility the
Contractor intends to use, the applicable tipping or processing rate, and evidence that the
Contractor has the right to use each facility throughout the contract term. Only facilities
approved by the City may be used. The Contractor shall maintain load-level disposal
records and weight tickets and shall include monthly summaries of tonnage and destination
with its report to the City.
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