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Duarte – SB 1383 Implementation + Solid Waste Coordination Services

Napa Recycling and Waste Services

R3 has partnered with the City of Duarte since 2022 to oversee waste collection services and ensure compliance with California’s recycling and organics laws. We monitor hauler performance, manage annual rate reviews, and complete required state reporting so city staff can focus on other priorities. Our team provides technical support to help residents and businesses meet expanding waste diversion requirements while keeping costs reasonable. We’ve guided the City through major regulatory changes, ensuring quality service without overwhelming city resources.

Our work has included coordinating the City’s Electronic Annual Report to state agencies, establishing new waste collection programs at City facilities and the food recovery center, and updating municipal codes to reflect current regulations. We’ve also helped the City navigate commercial waste requirements, supported construction and demolition recycling programs, and provided staff training during organizational transitions. This hands-on approach ensures Duarte meets all regulatory deadlines while maintaining strong relationships with residents and service providers.

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Glendale – Hauler Fee, Performance, and Compliance Audits

R3 provides annual comprehensive audits of waste hauler operations in Glendale, to verify that companies are properly reporting their services and paying required governmental fees. Our team reviews the performance for the City’s four franchised haulers as well as several permitted debris box haulers, checking that their billing records match what was actually collected and recycled. We interview hauler staff, examine thousands of individual financial transactions, and cross-check tonnage reports against actual weight tickets from disposal and recycling facilities. We also verify that businesses generating significant waste are receiving proper recycling and organics collection services as required by California law.

Our findings gives the City a clear picture of its waste collection system and identified areas for improvement. The audits confirm whether fee payments are made correctly, validate tonnage reporting accuracy, and ensure that contractors will meet their obligations to the City. We provide recommendations to strengthen City oversight and help resolve any discrepancies between what haulers report and what actually occurred. This annual independent verification protects the City’s interests while ensuring residents and businesses receive the services for which they pay.

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Garden Grove – C&D Program Implementation

For the past four years, R3 has supported the City of Garden Grove’s construction and demolition recycling program by providing the City with staff augmentation in reviewing contractor plans, verifying recycling documentation, and ensuring projects meet state building standards. We use the City’s specialized tracking software to monitor what materials are hauled, where they go, and how much is recycled versus sent to landfills. Our team communicates directly with contractors to explain requirements, correct common mistakes, and help them improve their recycling performance. We provide weekly reports to City staff on project approvals, rejections, and ongoing compliance issues.

Beyond day-to-day project reviews, we’ve helped the City streamline its entire construction recycling program. We developed guidance documents that make it easier for City staff to manage the program consistently and for contractors to understand what’s required. Our contractor education efforts focus on practical solutions – like proper source separation of materials and correct documentation – that lead to better recycling outcomes. This hands-on approach helps the City meet state reporting requirements while building a more effective, user-friendly program for the construction community.

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Butte County – Rate Review

Butte County

R3 was recently engaged by Butte County (County) to assist with solid waste planning efforts for the County’s Enterprise Fund and Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility (NRRWF). R3 is providing a variety of services including:

  • Reviewing and confirming the Interim Year Rate Applications for the County’s three haulers: Waste Management, Recology, and Northern Waste and Recycling;
  • Assisting the County with SB 1383 Capacity Planning by projecting organic waste tons disposed by the County and its incorporated jurisdictions as well as projecting the required additional edible food recovery capacity;
  • Providing the County with draft franchise agreement language for all three haulers to incorporate compliance with AB 1826 & SB 1383, and assisting in contract negotiations with the haulers;
  • Conducting Base Year (Detailed) Rate Reviews for each of the County’s three haulers;
  • Performing a rate study and creating a rate model for the County’s Enterprise Fund; projecting different rate adjustment scenarios over 20 years to ensure revenues can accommodate required expenses;
  • Creating draft ordinance language for the County to comply with SB 1383; and
  • Performing on-call work, as needed, including CalRecycle regulatory assistance, community engagement assistance, grant preparation assistance, and local task force assistance.
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Zero Waste Marin – Zero Waste Strategic Planning and Organizational Assessment

Zero Waste Marin

R3 was recently selected by Zero Waste Marin to conduct an Organizational Assessment of the JPA and provide recommendations on Best Management Practices and agency design that will improve the JPA’s ability to support Marin’s efforts to reduce waste going to landfill; as well as a zero waste feasibility study update that identifies five short-list strategies and a roadmap toward implementation of those strategies.

Project tasks include the following:

  • Research, analyze, develop findings, and prepare recommendations regarding the JPA’s Board of Director’s structure and composition, including potential alternatives to current practices;
  • Research, analyze, develop findings and prepare recommendations for future JPA staffing, that would be necessary to implement potential future alternative JPA structure and/or composition (such as contract staffing, support costs, expanded program costs, etc.);
  • Research, analyze, and develop findings regarding per capita (and/or per ratepayer) funding levels for other similar (and/or model) solid waste and recycling joint powers authorities, including descriptions of zero waste achievement and programs and services provided by the comparison agencies;
  • Conduct workshops with the Executive Committee and/or Board on best management practices in other zero waste communities and similar joint powers authorities;
  • Utilize our expertise to provide advice and recommendations on possible updates the 1996 Joint Powers Agreement; and
  • Map out the next steps the JPA could take to effectively move towards its zero waste goals and objectives, and identify five short-list zero waste strategies for implementation based upon updated waste and diversion modeling, stakeholder input, and best practices in zero waste.

Anticipated benefits include enhanced organizational effectiveness and improved zero waste programs.

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Richmond – 5-Year Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Review

West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill

R3 is currently engaged by the City of Richmond (City) to conduct the City’s 5-Year Review of Republic Services’ (Republic’s) Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill Bulk Materials Processing Center (inclusive of Golden Bear Transfer Station and associated solid waste facilities) for the period of January 2012 through March 2017.

R3 performed a high-level review that focused on key CUP terms and conditions relating to facility operations, such as hours of operation, maximum daily quantities, maximum storage capacity, odors, airborne bioaeresols and endotoxins; resource recovery diversion rate, and resource recovery best practices. The review also included, but was not limited, to the following areas: transfer station, materials recovery facility (MRF), and compost operations; illegal dumping mitigation; leachate containment and handling systems; and health and safety practices in place at the facilities. Separate reports were prepared for the City’s information for specified areas of particular concern.

R3’s major tasks for the review included:

  • Review of relevant background materials, including the Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Solid Waste Facility Permit (SWFP), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documentation and other relevant permits;
  • Preparation of the letter to Republic announcing the City’s intent to Review;
  • Preparation of an appendix detailing the data required for Republic’s submittal of a CUP compliance assessment; and
  • Facilitation of a meeting with City staff and Republic to discuss the process and answer questions.
  • Comprehensive verification of Republic’s submitted compliance assessment through site visits, observations of operations and evaluation of supplemental information from Republic.

Upon completion of the review, R3 assisted the City in drafting and negotiating changes to the CUP and a staff report to the Planning Commission, which included the recommendation to conduct ongoing monitoring for the period of one (1) additional year.

The additional year of monitoring is currently underway, and R3 has been engaged by the City to complete this review. R3 has held various meetings with the City and Republic to discuss the results of the review, incorporate comments, and provide clarifications and recommendations before finalizing the Review and presenting it to the City Planning Commission.

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Lane County – Solid Waste System Assessment and Master Plan

Lane County Facilities

R3 (with the assistance of Abbe & Associates and Blue Ridge Services) was engaged by Lane County (County), Oregon, with a three (3) phased master planning process: conducting an Operational Review, developing a Regional Strategic Master Plan, and developing Jurisdiction-Specific Action Plans. The County operates a series of 16 transfer stations, a large landfill and a special waste facility.

Phase I: Operational Assessment

R3 reviewed the operations and finances of Lane County’s landfill and transfer station system, and material recovery operations, and identified opportunities to improve the safety, cost, diversion, and overall system performance. Recommendations were very well received by Lane County and include: reconfiguring Lane County’s rates for material recovery facility residuals to provide more effective incentives to divert material, revising operations at the landfill and at the County’s central transfer station, and closing various rural transfer sites. The Phase I Operational Assessment Final Report was presented and well received by the County Board of Commissioners. A major goal was to identify at least $1.5 million in annual cost savings for the Division; R3’s recommendations are projected to save the County $1.8 million annually.

Phase II: Regional Master Plan

Phase 2 of the project involves conducting a needs assessment and developing a strategic Regional Master Plan, with the goal of achieving a Countywide diversion rate of 63%. The Phase II Regional Waste Master Plan involves identifying, evaluating and recommending programs and policy options, and projecting funding needs associated with the recommended Master Plan components.  R3 also led the stakeholder involvement process as part of Phase II. As part of the development of the Regional Master Plan, R3 designed the supporting stakeholder involvement process that included:

  • Developing a short- and long-range vision (initially working with Lane County staff, then with stakeholders);
  • Developing a communication plan to compile information and feedback from representatives of the various cities in Lane County, the private solid waste haulers and facility operators, non-profits, and residents and businesses; and
  • Conducting stakeholder engagement and outreach efforts (workshops, public meetings, publications, websites, etc.) to obtain feedback, ideas, and “buy-in.”
  • As part of this phase, R3 leveraged the County’s regional food recovery programs to develop recommendations for increased edible food recovery.

Phase III: Jurisdiction-Specific Action Plans

Phase III of the project involved working with the cities of Eugene and Springfield to develop jurisdiction-specific Action Plans to guide the implementation of solid waste management system polices, programs, and facilities in those jurisdictions that are aligned with the County’s Regional Master Plan.

Recently, R3 was selected to further assist the County with the following:

  • Drafting and executing waste disposal agreements with each of the incorporated cities that currently deliver their waste to the County’s waste management transfer station and landfill system;
  • Assessing  the pros and cons of establishing a countywide solid waste joint powers authority, and each of the jurisdiction’s level of interest in forming a JPA, and identify next steps; and
  • Drafting and negotiating a memorandum of understanding for coordinated county-wide solid waste management reporting requirements,;
  • Assess the pros and cons of the various collection system structures available to the County for the regulation of its private haulers in the Eugene-Springfield Urban Growth Boundary and the other more rural unincorporated areas of the County, and recommend a preferred structure
    based on the County’s objectives for its solid waste management system;
  • Drafting a performance-based high-recovery “model” franchise agreement, with private hauler input, that the County can use to regulate haulers within the County based on the preferred collection system structures determined above; and
  • Assisting the County with the executing performance-based high- franchise agreements with the private haulers operating in unincorporated Lane County.
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Rancho Cordova – Legislative Compliance & Solid Waste Support

Rancho Cordova

Rancho Cordova is one of R3’s longest-standing clients—a partnership that began in 2004 and continues strong today. Over the past two decades, we’ve earned the City’s trust by consistently delivering reliable guidance through California’s constantly evolving waste regulations. This enduring relationship reflects the confidence City leadership has in our team’s expertise and our deep understanding of their community’s unique needs. We’ve worked alongside multiple city managers and staff transitions, providing the continuity and institutional knowledge that allows the City to adapt to new requirements without disrupting service to residents.

We handle the full spectrum of waste program management—from creating public outreach materials and updating ordinances to reviewing franchise agreements and monitoring hauler compliance. Our team develops branding, website content, social media posts, and educational guides that help residents and businesses understand new recycling requirements in plain language. We also work behind the scenes to identify which commercial generators must comply with state laws, verify their participation, and coordinate with local food recovery organizations to redirect edible food from landfills. This combination of public education and technical enforcement ensures high participation rates and regulatory compliance.

Our financial oversight includes conducting annual rate reviews to verify that hauler costs are reasonable and that residents pay fair prices for collection services. We review hauler reporting, evaluate contract amendments, negotiate service terms, and provide recommendations that balance quality service with cost control. We’ve helped the City update its waste hauler contracts and municipal code to incorporate new state requirements while protecting the City’s interests and maintaining good relationships with its service providers.

Twenty years of collaboration has made us an extension of the City’s team. Rancho Cordova trusts us to manage complex regulatory requirements, represent their interests in hauler negotiations, and provide honest guidance on difficult decisions. This partnership has resulted in streamlined operations, successful grant applications, and consistent compliance with state mandates—all while allowing City staff to focus on broader community priorities knowing their waste programs are in capable, experienced hands.

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Merced – Solid Waste Rate Study & 5-Year Financial Plan

City of Merced

R3 assisted the City of Merced with updating its solid waste and recycling rates following the repeal of a local utility tax that had previously funded waste programs. When the tax was eliminated in January 2018, the city needed to restructure its rate system to maintain service levels while complying with California’s strict Proposition 218 requirements for how municipalities can charge residents for waste collection. Building on a rate model we developed for Merced in 2014, our team calculated new rate adjustments that would cover the revenue gap and meet evolving state recycling mandates. Our work included analyzing whether additional revenues were necessary, developing multiple rate scenarios, and conducting surveys of comparable cities to ensure Merced’s pricing remained competitive.

The result was a transparent, Excel-based financial planning tool that allows the city to project revenues and expenses on a cost-of-service basis over a five-year period. This model helps Merced plan for future rate adjustments, capital improvements, and operational changes while maintaining compliance with both Proposition 218 and California’s expanding waste diversion requirements. We also reviewed the city’s municipal code to identify updates needed for new state laws on commercial recycling, organics collection, and food waste reduction. This comprehensive approach gave the city financial stability for its waste programs and a clear roadmap for adapting to future regulatory changes.

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City Of Santa Monica – Solid Waste Operational Analysis, Rate Study, and Zero Waste Plan Update

R3 conducted a comprehensive review of Santa Monica’s waste collection and recycling operations to help the city improve efficiency, maintain fair rates, and advance toward its ambitious zero waste goals. Our team analyzed how the City’s Resource Recovery and Recycling Division operated—from staffing levels and equipment to service routes and customer interactions. Through detailed interviews with City staff and residents, we identified opportunities to enhance productivity, safety, and long-term sustainability while ensuring the division had the resources needed to serve the community effectively over the next decade.

A critical part of our work involved protecting ratepayers by examining the City’s billing systems and rate structures. We audited billing records to verify accuracy and compared Santa Monica’s customer billing technology to industry standards used by private haulers. Since the City used systems not specifically designed for solid waste collection, we evaluated whether upgrades could improve service and reduce errors that affect residents. We also conducted a detailed rate study to confirm that current fees covered actual costs and developed a 10-year financial model that allows the City to plan for capital investments, operational changes, and new programs without unexpected rate increases.

Our analysis directly supported Santa Monica’s Zero Waste goals by identifying the most cost-effective strategies to increase diversion from landfills. We evaluated current programs and recommended new initiatives that would move the city closer to achieving 95% waste diversion by 2030. This included assessing opportunities for enhanced recycling, organics processing, and community engagement. We compared how other comparable communities managed the financial impacts of ambitious environmental programs, giving Santa Monica proven strategies that balanced environmental leadership with fiscal responsibility.

Throughout this engagement, we facilitated robust community outreach to ensure residents understood how waste services were funded and what changes might be coming. We developed materials for the Zero Waste Plan and Rate Study that translated complex technical and financial information into plain language. Our goal was to provide Santa Monica with clear options and recommendations that served both the City’s environmental vision and its residents’ need for reliable, affordable waste services. By taking a data-driven approach, we helped the City make informed decisions that would improve operations, achieve ambitious diversion targets, and maintain public trust in how ratepayer dollars are used.

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