Oxnard staff recommend one-year extension to Waste Management disposal contract

Oxnard City staff recommended that the City Council approve a one-year extension to Agreement A-8280 with Waste Management of California, Inc. to continue disposal of municipal solid waste at the Simi Valley landfill from May 15, 2026, through May 14, 2027, Assistant Public Works Director Brian Yianes said.

The recommendation, presented April 21, 2026, asks the council to authorize the mayor to execute a second amendment to the agreement. Staff materials list an additional amount formatted in the packet as '12,447,14' (formatting in the original materials) and report a revised not-to-exceed contract total of $65,657,827.

The item matters because the Environmental Resources Division operates Oxnard’s collection and processing system and relies on the city-owned regional recycling and transfer station to route residual waste to an offsite landfill. According to staff materials, the city handled about 261,000 tons of solid waste in 2025 and more than 4 million tons have been transferred for disposal over the past five years; the materials list roughly "41,77" customer accounts as of April 2026 (as presented in the packet).

Staff traced procurement history to RFP ER20-96, issued June 27, 2020, and reported that the council previously approved the disposal agreement with Waste Management on May 4, 2021. Materials list the current disposal rate under the agreement as $36.74 per ton and the agreement’s scheduled expiration as May 14, 2026.

The staff report also summarizes rate changes over the contract period and states that Waste Management raised rates by an average of about 5.7% per year during the five-year contract. The packet lists several rate figures that are not fully explained in the presented transcript: a proposed rate for the one-year extension shown as "$568" (unit not specified), an MSW gate rate under the agreement of $36.74 per ton, and a general-public gate rate of $98.65 per ton. The staff presentation did not clarify the relationship or units for the $568 figure in the excerpt provided.

Environmental Resources recommended the one-year amendment to provide continuity of service while the city re-solicits disposal services via the RFP process and monitors market conditions before entering a long-term contract. Staff characterized the Simi Valley Landfill as "reliable, responsive, and well-performing" for Oxnard’s requirements.

On funding, staff said there is sufficient funding in the adopted fiscal year 2025–26 Environmental Resources fund account to cover services through June 30, 2026, but that additional funding of approximately $5.6–6 million would be required in fiscal year 2026–27 to fund the proposed one-year extension.

The staff recommendation was presented to the council; the provided transcript does not record a council vote, motion, or final action on the amendment. If the council approves the amendment it would extend the contract term to May 14, 2027 and increase the agreement’s not-to-exceed amount as stated in staff materials.