Solid Waste Transportation and Disposal Services

The City of Seattle (“the City”), through its Seattle Public Utilities (“SPU”), is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a contractor to provide long-haul transportation and disposal services for non-recycled Solid Waste generated in the City (residential and nonresidential). The resulting services contract will replace SPU’s current long‑haul and disposal contract.

The selected contractor will receive compacted, containerized garbage from SPU’s transfer stations and other City‑authorized customers, transport the material to an approved disposal facility, and return empty containers to maintain required inventory levels. Services must be reliable, fully permitted, protective of public health and safety, and aligned with the City’s long‑term solid waste management strategies.

SPU seeks proposals that provide cost‑effective, environmentally responsible, and operationally reliable solutions that maintain capacity for projected tonnage growth and support flexibility as regional landfill and infrastructure conditions evolve.

The City estimates the total value of the Contract resulting from this solicitation to be between $350,000,000 and $450,000,000 over the full Contract term. This estimate is provided for general planning purposes only and does not constitute a guarantee of any minimum or maximum amount of work or compensation.

All technical requirements for this solicitation are contained exclusively in the Contract (Appendix A). The RFP body does not restate technical content. Proposers must rely on Appendix A when preparing all responses to the Evaluation Criteria in Section 7.

The City welcomes innovative approaches and beneficial alternatives that support the City Priorities described in this solicitation. Detailed instructions for submitting Alternative Proposals are provided in Section 6.

Project Details

• Reference ID: SU0-26-002-A
• Department: Seattle Public Utilities
• Department Head: Andrew Lee (General Manager and CEO)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-16T22:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-06-09T20:00:00.000Z — Microsoft Teams Meeting ID: p88hd65H Meeting Passcode: 259 352 422 940 092 Meeting URL: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/259352422940092?p=fDytcOe1l9qgvU9YFl Join by Phone: +1-206-686-8357 United States, Seattle Phone Conference ID: 791 502 137#

Evaluation Criteria

• Proposed Approach (30 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.3.1.

• Vendor Experience, Past Performance, Financial Resources & Site Readiness (20 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.3.2.

• Workforce Success & Environmental Sustainability (10 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.3.3.

• Services Fees (30 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.3.4

• Inclusion Plan (10 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.3.5.

• Interviews (100 pts) —

  See RFP Section 7.4.

Submission Requirements

• Response Materials and Submittals —

  Prepare your response as follows. Submit all required materials and upload each document into the appropriate submittal box designated for that item. Use the required formats and provide all attachments. Failure to provide all requested information on the proper forms and in the order specified, or failure to upload documents into the correct OpenGov submittal boxes, may cause the City to reject your response.

• Technical Proposal (required) —

  Please upload your Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal must be based solely on the requirements, specifications, and performance standards contained in the Contract (Appendix A). Proposers are responsible for reviewing Appendix A in full when preparing all responses to the Evaluation Criteria in Section 7.

• Vendor Questionnaire Form (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload.

• Inclusion Plan (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload.

• Services Fees (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload.

• Surety Intent Form (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload.

  Proposers must submit a completed Surety Intent Form (Appendix F) with their proposal. The Surety Intent Form must be signed by an authorized representative of a surety company that is:

  • licensed to do business in the State of Washington; and
  • listed on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Circular 570 as an acceptable surety.

  By submitting the Surety Intent Form, the surety confirms that it has reviewed this RFP and the Contract and that, if the Proposer is selected for award, the surety intends to issue the required Performance Bond in the amount and form specified in the Contract.

  Failure to submit a completed Surety Intent Form may result in the City deeming the proposal nonresponsive.

• Alternative Proposals (Optional) —

  The City encourages Alternative Proposals for transport and disposal services that support the City Priorities described in Section 1. Alternatives may range from minor modifications to operational or processing approaches to major system changes. The City encourages revisions to the base services or Contract specifications that lower costs, enhance services, reduce environmental or community impacts, or otherwise advance the City Priorities.

  Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Modifications to terms or specifications that provide a lower price or better service
  • Changes to the method of payment or other financial incentives
  • Longer or shorter contract length or different service start years
  • Alternative fleets or fuels for all or part of Contractor operations
  • Fleet and equipment replacement strategies that incorporate evolving alternative fuels or technologies

  Upload your Alternative Proposal into the designated submittal box. Alternative Proposals must be submitted in addition to a fully compliant Base Proposal and must be clearly labeled and sufficiently detailed for evaluation. The City may consider Alternatives during the Best Value Tradeoff if they demonstrably improve value to the City; however, the City is under no obligation to accept any Alternative, and the Base Proposal will remain the foundation for evaluation and award.

• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items. 
• Will this solicitation be awarded based on Evaluation Criteria/Committee? (required)