Faced with a new processing RFP, Dufferin County sought to understand the costs to manage increasing amounts of bagged recyclables, and whether it would be more cost-effective to debag at the curb or process bagged materials at the MRF. Dufferin provides single stream recycling collection in Blue Boxes, with the...
Historically, the CIF has advocated that municipalities split material sales revenue between themselves and their contractor, provided the municipality has sufficient tonnage to warrant the extra administrative work. This approach was intended to mitigate the impact of shifting commodity prices on contractors and incentivize them to maximize the value of...
Performance bonds and letters of credit play an important role in protecting municipalities against potential contract defaults. Understanding when and how to use these tools is more important than ever before. Performance bonds are similar to insurance policies. They are typically issued by a bond surety company to the municipality...
A “force majeure” clause is included in contracts to relieve the parties of their obligations in the event of significant unforeseen circumstances that are typically outside of their control. Essentially, it is a contract provision that relieves the parties from performing their contractual obligations when circumstances beyond their control arise,...
The potential for the Blue Box Program to transition at any time to an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) system has put pressure on municipal staff and contractors to manage contracted operations significantly beyond their original terms. Repeated contract extensions have pushed contractors to operate their equipment well into the late...
Photo courtesy of City of Cornwall The prospect of a new collection and processing contract is always going to be daunting. This process is compounded during times of uncertainty and impending regulatory change. Under Project 1075, the City of Cornwall (City) obtained assistance from the CIF to create a new...
In light of the uncertainty surrounding the pending transition to full produce responsibility, municipalities that are contracting for recycling services now, need to provide for the possibility that a change of law may significantly affect their program and/or the scope of work. Including transition clauses in new or updated contracts...
When CIF staff receive questions that are new to us, we're happy to investigate, and where necessary, obtain expert advice. This week's blog was prepared by Paula Lombardi, LLB of the law firm, Siskinds LLP, to address procurement obligations that may affect Ontario recycling programs. Responding to...
The Renfrew County Multi-Municipality Waste Group (“Group”) through CIF project 956 obtained technical RFP support, and financial assistance to develop promotion and education (P&E) materials. The Group aimed to develop a joint waste management procurement document between to standardize recycling and waste management contracts and improve access to recycling program...
Rick Clow, General Manage, Quinte Waste Solutions In an attempt to aid all municipalities in crafting their RFPs, and hopefully improving pricing in the process, Rick Clow from Quinte Waste Solutions (QWS) agreed to share some thoughts on the bidder’s response side of the RFP process. QWS receives RFPs from non-member Ontario...
Procurement and contracting is difficult and time-consuming at any time, and especially as we await implementation of EPR in Ontario. For several years, CIF has offered resources to help waste management staff develop functional and competitive procurement documents for contracting recycling services. But a great deal has changed for recycling in...
Many programs are coming out of a long term contract cycle and may not have had to draft an RFP or tender for years or even a decade. Staff and Council may have turned over and many municipal folks have never been involved in the waste management procurement process before. If...
You’ve probably heard the adage: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Good advice if you’re trying to feed someone, but not so good if you’re trying to produce a strong request for...
Yankee baseball legend Yogi Berra said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Unfortunately, we are now forced to do just that with respect to the effect of new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation on recycling collection and processing contracts that are up for renewal. Many municipalities have waited a...
