In the past few years we have seen numerous municipalities wrestle with whether they should contract certain services out, while other cities consider municipalizing certain solid waste services. Examples include commercial solid waste collection (dumpsters and roll-offs), MRF operations, and landfill operations. Sometimes the question is driven by: will privatization “save” money; will municipalization generate additional revenues for the city coffers; politics; a combination of these factors.

The purpose of this presentation is to show how to evaluate what the best option for the city is and having a story that is defensible, whatever the decision is that the city makes. This presentation will describe several studies completed for cities that were evaluating whether to municipalize commercial collection services, municipalize MRF operations, as well as privatize landfill operations. At the end of this presentation, the attendees will know the methodology required to determine what is best for their city, if these issues arise, and how to use it.