Dive Brief:
- With a new waste and recycling service system beginning today, Waste Management will be the sole provider of trash and composting services for all Oakland, CA, residences and businesses. California Waste Solutions (CWS) — which is based in Oakland — will provide recycling services for all residences.
- Composting will also be available to nearly all residents, including those living in apartments and condo buildings with more than five units. In the past, only single-family houses received bins for yard waste and food scraps.
- The new service system follows Waste Management’s struggle for fair treatment by Oakland, CA's government. The company sued the city in 2014 after city officials awarded its total $1 billion waste contract to CWS. According to the city’s analysis, CWS had never had a residential garbage contract before and wasn’t ready to handle the job, the East Bay Express reported.
Dive Insight:
Oakland’s new waste, recycling, and composting system gives a hometown company the chance to prove its merit, while giving a major industry player and proven vendor for Oakland the opportunity to keep doing business with the city.
In addition to providing competition, the new waste, composting, and recycling system in the city provides more options to residents, as well as more chances to compost food and yard waste — a practice that is catching on in other large cities, such as Seattle and New York. The new system will also provide better service, including more bulk pick-ups for residences.
