The city of Santa Barbara decided last week to extend its contract with MarBorg Industries to haul fat, oil and grease, but it plans to cast a wider net for companies through a formal request for proposals later in the year.
The city requires restaurants to to divert grease at the source into a grease trap, which is hauled away into a disposal site. The city wants to keep the material out of the collection system so it doesn’t clog pipes, which can cause spills and breaks.
Mark Craig, owner of Coastal Byproducts, told the City Council that it should hold a competitive bid for the right to dump the fat, oil and grease at city’s El Estero Wastewater Treatement Plant.
“I don’t think the program at El Estero should be Marborg’s private dump facility,” Craig said. “It needs to be open to other haulers. I don’t think the taxpayers will benefit from making El Estero exclusive. It should be inclusive to ensure that the locally generated grease trap waste is dumped.”
Craig said his company hauls about 15,000 to 20,000 gallons a week of fat, oil and grease to Fresno, a five-hour-drive, because MarBorg has the exclusive contract with the city.
“It just seems to me, I know everyone is in a big hurry to give Marborg a five-year deal, but my trucks are out there and they are pumping a lot more waste than theirs. It seems like because Marborg is right across the street from El Estero they are kind of getting like the super deal and it makes it hard for other companies.”
MarBorg, which has a longterm, multi-million-dollar contract to haul trash and recycling for the city of Santa Barbara, was not present at the meeting.
MarBorg brings about 65,000 gallons of the materials into the El Estero facility per month, and the fat, oil and grease is then used to power a portion of the treatment plant.
The city’s facility, however, is near capacity to expand how much of that material it can handle.
“We are undersized to take any more FOG (fat, oil and grease),” said Lisa Arroyo, city wastewater system manager. “We cannot take more.”
Earlier this year, the city was poised to renew MarBorg contract for five years, but Craig kicked the dust up over the lack of a competitive bid, and the city decided to change directions after the July 10 meeting.
MarBorg has been working to haul the fat, oil and grease for the city without an agreement since April. The new contract, approved last week, will last through April 2019.
In the meantime, the city will start a competitive bid process.
“We’re looking at creating an open process to invite other companies besides MarBorg,” Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo said. “It’s an open and fair process.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
