Background

To meet the city's waste diversion and climate action goals, the City of Cleveland Heights is initiating a composting pilot at priority sites. Food scraps and other compostable materials represent a significant portion of the waste stream. This pilot aligns with goals to reduce landfill waste, lower emissions, and improve environmental stewardship in city operations and education.

Scope of Services

The successful vendor will:

• Provide community-wide collection services for food waste
• Provide and maintain compost collection containers and services for four sites
• Ensure regular pickups and contamination checks
• Process food waste at a licensed composting facility
• Conduct community education and outreach
• Provide training for city staff
• Provide monthly reports on (Number or residents engaged, Organic waste diverted (tons), carbon emissions reduced (MTCO2e), contamination rates and system performance.
• Comply with all local, state, and federal regulations.

Proposal Requirements

Respondents should submit:

• Company profile, project team and relevant experience with municipal composting
• Detailed service plan including approach to hauling, processing, and contamination prevention
• Details of composting facility, certifications, and permits and licenses held by company
• Sample bins, equipment and technology to be used and educational materials
• Budget/cost per site or per pickup and fee schedule
• Timeline for setup and rollout
• Three sample contracts and references from similar projects

The budget for the municipal composting pilot program is $38, 160.

Evaluation Criteria

• Relevant experience — 25%
• Operational plan and methodology — 25%
• Cost-effectiveness — 20%
• Community education approach — 15%
• Reporting and monitoring — 15%

Tentative Schedule

• RFP Issued — June 23, 2025
• Proposals Due — July 7, 2025
• Selection Notification — July 21, 2025
• Pilot Start Date — August 1, 2025
• Interim Evaluation — January 14, 2026
• Pilot End Date — July 31, 2026

Submission Instructions

Send proposals in PDF format to: ABoateng@clevelandheights.gov

Subject line: Municipal Composting Pilot RFP – City of Cleveland Heights

Deadline: July 7, 2025 at 5pm EST.

All inquiries must be submitted in writing by June 30, 2025 at 5pm EST to:

Andy Boateng, Sustainability and Resiliency Coordinator ABoateng@clevelandheights.gov