This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to obtain information from interested vendors capable of providing residential curbside recycling collection and/or processing services for the City of Whitehorse. The City is investigating the feasibility of delivering a residential curbside recycling program and is seeking input from potential contractors as to their interest and capability to deliver this service. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to gather information that could assist the City in the development of a future procurement process. The City may or may not proceed with a competitive bidding process. This is not a request for proposal or request for tender and is not a legally binding procurement process. The Scope of Work for Residential Curbside Recycling Services consists of two parts: (a) curbside collection of non-refundable recyclables and (b) subsequent processing of these materials for shipment to a permitted recycling facility. If the decision is made to move forward with a curbside collection program the City anticipates implementation as soon as it is feasible in 2024. The City is currently considering one contract for both collection and processing. Respondents should indicate if they have interest/capacity to deliver both services (either internally or through sub-contractor) or if they are interested in providing only one of the two services. a. Curbside Collection The City's current waste and organics curbside collection program provides service to eligible premises, defined as urban residential dwellings with four units or less located on a collection route within the City's Urban Containment Boundary (UCB). Currently the City collects from approximately 7,350 households on the residential curbside program using automated collection trucks and wheeled 240L carts. Residential collection services are delivered weekly (alternating waste and organics each week) with two trucks over four 10-hour days each week. It's expected that recycling collection would be offered either weekly or bi-weekly and Respondents should indicate their suggested frequency of collection and schedule. The City expects a collection contractor would be responsible for fielding any service delivery related inquiries regarding missed collections, damaged containers, etc. Respondents should indicate experience in this regard. The City is requesting information from parties interested in offering recycling collection to eligible premises on the current City collection program, as well as capacity/interest to provide recycling collection services to ineligible locations, i.e. multi-family dwellings greater than four units (apartments, condos, estimated additional 4,500 households). b. Processing of materials Processing services would consist of receiving, storing, sorting, processing and shipping recyclables to end markets. Respondents should indicate their ability to handle projected volumes as well as capacity to handle additional volumes above what is projected below. Respondents should indicate how they would manage refundable materials in the non-refundable stream and also state how they would maximize product value and material recyclability through their processing methods/end markets and how they would minimize residual out-throws. Respondents should indicate whether they would directly provide processing services or contract those services out. c. Recycling tonnages The following is an estimate of tonnage of residential non-refundable recyclables expected to be managed under a curbside program. Based on recycling data from similar sized jurisdictions in British Columbia, a residential curbside recycling service for 7,350 households is estimated to generate 933 tonnes per year, or 18 tonnes per week. Addition of 4,500 multi-family locations could potentially add 571 tonnes to this total. The City does not expect glass and styrofoam to be included in a curbside program at this time. Respondents should note these are high level estimates and there may be deviation from these estimates upon program implementation. Respondents should indicate in their submission whether co-mingled (single-stream) collection or source-separated (multi-stream) collection would be preferred. Respondents should also indicate their ability to manage soft/flexible plastics within the scope of services identified. The following breakdown of tonnages is based on the estimated proportions of residential non-refundable materials currently being processed: d. Contract Term In order to support the transition to an industry managed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, it's expected the initial contract term for services would be two (2) years with one year options for extension to a maximum of five (5) years. The contract may contain transition/termination clauses in order to allow for a timely EPR transition. Deadline to submit Questions Nov 29th 2023, 5:00 PM MST All inquiries related to this RFI should be directed to the contact ("City Representative") at the email address below, or through the electronically messaging system City Representative: Gloria Kasigazi, Supervisor AP & Procurement Email Address: procurement@whitehorse.ca