Justification for Single Source_Yard Trash_TRLF_Waste Management (1).docx
DOCX document 126 KB Posted
- Attached to
- FY27 Wood and Yard Waste
- Solicitation number
- 18226-26
- Issued by
- Florida
About this file
This is a Single Source Justification Form submitted by the City of Jacksonville's Solid Waste Division to the Finance & Administration Department, Procurement Division, dated September 14, 2026. The document requests a single source award to Trail Ridge Landfill, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management) for the processing, recycling, and disposal of 100,000 to 135,000 tons of residential curbside vegetative debris and yard waste annually at Trail Ridge Landfill. The service also encompasses disposal and recycling of vegetative wastes collected by the Right of Way and Stormwater Maintenance Division from city rights-of-way, stormwater ponds, drainage outfalls, and publicly owned land parcels. This is an essential city service for solid waste management within Jacksonville.
The justification asserts that Trail Ridge Landfill, Inc. is the only supplier capable of accepting and processing 100 percent of the city's annual yard waste volume, which is critical to maintaining Duval County's 55 percent overall solid waste recycling rate and meeting Florida Department of Environmental Protection reporting requirements and the state's goal of 75 percent municipal solid waste recycling by 2020. Market research conducted by Jeff Foster, the Solid Waste Environmental Engineering Manager, included desktop evaluation of contracts, RFP documents, FDEP data, and interviews with facility operators. The research revealed that while five vendors initially expressed interest when the service was last bid, only one response was received (the current vendor). Of four landfills in Duval County with capacity for 100 percent vegetative recycling, three are now associated with Waste Management/TRLFI (including recently acquired Jones Road and Old Kings Road landfills), and the fourth (Otis Road Landfill, owned by GFL Corporation) declined interest in bidding. A competing vendor, Gaston Tree Debris Recycling, LLC, indicated insufficient local capacity to handle the required annual tonnage. The current vendor operates the landfill under a Landfill Operations Agreement extending through at least 2039, and mixing processed vegetative debris with borrow pit soils at a 50-50 ratio extends the landfill's operational lifespan.
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Finance & Administration Department, Procurement Division Single Source Justification Form (SSJF)
Pursuant to the City of Jacksonville Procurement Code 126.306(a) (8) & The Procurement Operating Manual, when requesting to purchase from a Supplier subject to the referenced sections, this form is to be completed and must be submitted to the Procurement Division with applicable attachments via 1Cloud Smart Form Requisition.
| 1. Requesting Agency: |
| Solid Waste |
2. Nature and/or description of the requirement being requested.
Identify each item, component or service being procured. (Attach quote/proposal):
Why does the city need these particular goods or services?
The processing, recycling and/or disposal of 100,000 to 135,000 tons of residential curbside vegetative debris and yard waste at Trail Ridge Landfill that is collected from the four solid waste service areas. Additionally, the Right of Way and Stormwater Mainteance Division (ROWSW) utilizes the service for the disposal and recycling of vegetative wastes that are collected from the City’s ROWs, stormwater ponds, drainage outfalls and other publically owned land parcels. The collection, disposal and/or recycling of the residential curbside solid waste is an essential City service to manage solid waste within the City of Jacksonville.
| 3. Provide a detailed justification as to why the requested goods/services can only be efficiently and effectively procured through the recommended Single Source Supplier: |
| The current vendor, Trail Ridge Landfill, Inc. (a.k.a. Waste Management - WM) is the only supplier that has the capacity to accept, process and recycle 100 percent of the City’s annual amount of yard waste the City collects from the citizens of Jacksonville. This 100 percent residential yard trash recycle rate helps Duval County maintain its overall solid waste recycle rate of 55 percent. The City, on behalf of Duval County, is required to report the recycling data to the Florida Department of Envirnmental Protection (FDEP) annually. The FDEP has required Florida counties to reach a goal of recycling 75% of municipal solid waste by 2020. The County’s current overall rate has declined over the past several years from a high of 60% down to 55% due to market conditions on other recycling commodity segments of the solid waste stream. Any reduction of the current 100% recycle rate for yard waste would negatively affect the County’s overall recycle rate which in turn could prompt the FDEP to require the City to take additional steps to increase recycle efforts which would take funding to implement new efforts. A single source award for this service would also increase the life of the remaining borrow pit area which saves the City money and resources. WM operates the landfill for the City of Jacksonville and is responsible for placing daily cover materials over the wastes at the end of each operational day. The vegetative debris and yard waste that is brought to the landfill for processing is mulched/ground up and mixed with borrow pit soils on a 50% mulch–50% borrow pit soils basis. The borrow pit’s life span has been severely impacted by the amount of certified clean backfill the City has had to use recently from the borrow pit for off-site contaminated dumps the City has remediated and former landfills the City has upgraded due to degraded conditions. The loss of the 50%-50% vegetative debris and soil mix capability is estimated to reduce the existing lifespan of the borrow pit by 4 to 5 years. |
4. Date of Request
9/14/2026
5. Summary of Market Research [Provide a description of the market research performed, how it was performed, by whom, and market research results. Please spell out acronyms.]
[ The market research was done by Jeff Foster, Solid Waste Environmental Engineering Manger with the City’s Solid Waste Division. The research was a desk top evaluation of in-house contracts and RFP documents, FDEP recycle report data, monthly COJ Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (“CON”) facility recycle reports and and personal interviews with other facility operators with similar industry facilities and operations. The last time this service was put out to bid, there were five vendors who initially expressed interest in the RFP but there was only one response to the bid solicitation, the current vendor, Trail Ridge Landfill, Inc. (TRLFI). TRLFI is a wholly owned subsidiary of WM and they are the current vendor who operates the landfill for the City until at least 2039 under the Landfill Operations Agreement. There are four landfills in Duval County which have the capacity to maintain the 100% vegetative recycle rate but two of them, Jones Road landfill and Old Kings Road Landfill were recently purchased by WM/TRLFI, the current incumbent vendor at the Trail Ridge Landfill. The fourth landfill, Otis Road Landfill is owned by the GFL Corporation (Green for Life). Ed Schmalfeld was contacted via e-mail about their interest in this service if it was put out for bid. He responded they would not be interested in submitting a bid response. The e-mail response is attached. Additionally Bill Gaston of Gaston Tree Debris Recycling, LLC, a vendor and CON holder was contacted by phone about his interest if the service was put out for bid. Mr. Gaston stated they had contracts to process residential curbside vegetation in other counties that were similar in size and tonnage amounts as the City’s volume and they could do the work, but they did not have the current capacity in their local facility to handle the yearly tonnage amounts. The review of the facility information for the remaining vegetative processing/recycling CON holders show they do not have the tonnage capacity to handle the required amount of yard waste that would be brought to those facilities. In summary, three of the four landfills in Duval County that have the capacity to process and recycle the City’s annual residential yard waste debris tonnage are associated with the current incumbent vendor, WM/TRLFI, and the fourth landfill has indicated they are not interested in this service if it was put out for bid. The other vendor who has the experience to operate this type of facility, does not have the local capacity the handle the annual volume. ]
6. Conflict of Interest (Must Check) √ By checking this box, I affirm that there are no actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest with the entity in which I am requesting a single source award. Conflict of Interest shall be interpreted consistent with Chapter 112, Florida Statutes.
7. Other Documentation (Check and attach all that apply) √ Supplier Quote √ Single Source Memo signed by Director √ Other [E-mail from Ed Schmalfeld, P.E. gfl to Jeff Foster dated 9/12/2026 indicating their non-interest in submitting a response to a RFP for these services. ] Justification for Single Source, effective 01/2024 Page 1 image1.jpeg
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