REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS for Regional Recycling Survey and Campaign. RFI No.

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1 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS for Regional Recycling Survey and Campaign Issued: January 19, 2018 RESPONSE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: *******February 9, 2018 by 5:00 PM CST ******* NO LATE RESPONSES WILL BE ACCEPTED RESPONSES SHALL BE ED TO: SUBJECT: NCTCOG Request for Information NCT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING IN THE RESPONSE Responder: Address: City: State: Zip Code: Contact Person: Phone: Fax: Signature: Printed Name: RFI PRE-RESPONSE MEETING Thursday, February 1, :30 p.m. Metroplex Conference Room CenterPoint II 616 Six Flags Drive Arlington, Texas FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS RFI PLEASE CONTACT: Tamara Cook, Senior Program Manager Phone number (817) NOTICE TO RESPONDER: ANY FURTHER INFORMATION OR AMENDMENTS TO THIS SOLICITATION SHALL BE POSTED ON THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS ( WEBSITE. AMENDMENTS SHALL NOT BE FAXED, ED OR MAILED. IT IS THE RESPONDER S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR ANY SOLICITATION CHANGES DURING THE RFI RESPONSE TIME

2 I. NCTCOG OVERVIEW The North Central Texas Council of Governments (hereafter NCTCOG) is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments and was established to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG serves a 16-county metropolitan region centered around the two urban centers of Dallas and Fort Worth. Currently the Council has 238 members, including 16 counties, 169 cities, 22 independent school districts, and 31 special districts. The area of the region is approximately 12,800 square miles, which is larger than nine states, and the population of the region is approximately 7 million, which is larger than 35 states. The overall theme for NCTCOG s environmental resource and development initiatives continues to be sustainable environmental excellence. The Environment and Development Department focuses on planning for the future of this growing and changing area, in a collaborative and cost-effective way, for the benefit of all North Central Texas. The Department addresses this growth primarily within six different program areas Materials Management, Natural Resources, Public Works, Regional Codes, Watershed Management, and Development Excellence. II. PURPOSE OF RFI The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to solicit information that will assist NCTCOG in development of a scope of work. NCTCOG will be initiating and implementing a Regional Recycling Project that seeks to improve recycling participation (diverting more recyclables from the waste stream) and decrease contamination (improving the quality & market value of the recyclables) in the 16-county NCTCOG region. The intent of the scope of work is to clearly outline the project goals, expectations, tasks, and deliverables that are desired and will be executed by a qualified contractor. The objective of the project is to develop an understanding of the regional challenges, opportunities, and engage the cooperation of local Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) and other stakeholders to develop and support a mutual, consistent message to the region regarding recycling of common recyclables. Additionally, this project seeks to facilitate long-term solutions in educating the public on how to recycle more and recycle right. The selected provider shall help identify key stakeholders to include regional MRF s, municipalities, waste management/recycling providers, solid waste, recycling & educational professionals, environmental organizations, etc. This project will be guided by NCTCOG s assigned staff and identified members from a RCC Advisory Group subcommittees, while the results will be advanced through participating NCTCOG s member governments and shared throughout the entire North Central Texas region. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the NCTCOG to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, NCTCOG is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. NCTCOG reserves the right to accept or reject any response, and modify or cancel this RFI at any time. Responders are advised that NCTCOG will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is

3 released, it will be posted on the NCTCOG s website at It is the responsibility of the Responder to monitor this site for such possible future solicitation. III. RESPONSE FORMAT Section 1: INTRODUCTION Please provide company name, individual contact name and title, mailing address, phone number and address. Additionally, include a statement describing your company, history, products, services, approaches, and any other relevant information. Section 3: INPUT ON SCOPE OF WORK (Attachment A) Information submitted to this RFI should consist of comments on Attachment A. NCTCOG is seeking input on potential project outlines, possible scope of work elements/tasks, specific items to be furthered considered, questions, and possible challenges associated with this project. NCTCOG is seeking specific input on the following: 1. Scope of Work, Tasks, and Deliverables a. Provide input on overall scope of work elements b. Provide recommended tasks that are not currently included c. Provide recommended deliverables that are not currently included 2. Number of local governments that should be surveyed in Task 1 to have a sufficient and representative sample Section 4: COST RESPONSE Responders are asked to provide estimated pricing for the proposed scope of work, including an upfront and annual cost estimate of any software and/or applicable services to help NCTCOG understand acquisition and on-going costs that could serve to accomplish Task 3. Any cost estimates requested are for budgeting purposes only. Responders will not be held to price estimates provided as part of the RFI should NCTCOG later decide to issue a competitive solicitation. Section 5: ADDITIONAL RESPONSE INFORMATION Any information, not specifically addressed in the RFI that may be relevant to the response may be included in section 5. Additionally, NCTCOG is requesting specific input on the following items: 1. Should NCTCOG issue one or two Request for Proposals to accomplish this project? If recommending two proposals, please identify each Task that would be associated with each proposal. 2. Proposal Format Requirements 3. Evaluation Criteria Recommendations Section 6: ATTACHMENTS Any attachments to the RFI should be properly labelled and included with the response.

4 IV. RFI SUBMISSION Please submit one (1) ed copy of your response no later than 5 p.m. CST on February 9, Electronic copy of Response must be in a PDF or Microsoft Office compatible file format and not submitted as separate sections. subject line should include NCTCOG Request for Information NCT and send to: purchasing@nctcog.org NCTCOG is only requesting ed responses. In-person, hard-copy, faxed, or other methods of delivery will be ineligible and not accepted for consideration. It is the responsibility of the Responder to ensure that the Response is received in NCTCOG s by the designated due date and time. NCTCOG assumes no responsibility for delays caused by delays. All documents associated with the RFI, unless the Responder clearly indicates a portion of the Response is proprietary, will be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act. All information obtained in the course of this RFI will become property of the NCTCOG. The NCTCOG Environment & Development Department is the issuing office for this RFI and all subsequent addenda relating to it. The reference number for the RFI is NCT This number must be referenced on all Responses, correspondence, and documentation relating to the RFI. A representative of the company may withdraw a response at any time prior to the RFI submission deadline, upon presentation of acceptable identification as a representative of such company. V. RFI SCHEDULE The schedule for the RFI process is provided below. All times indicated are Central Standard Time (CST). NCTCOG may change this schedule at any time through the addenda process. It is each Responder s responsibility to check the website question and answer area for this RFI for current information regarding this RFI and its Calendar of Events through award of the Contract. NCTCOG (www. nctcog.org/aa/rfp.asp). The anticipated schedule is as follows: RFI Issued January 19, 2018 Pre-Submission Conference February 1, :30 PM RFI Closes/Responses Due February 9, 2018 to NCTCOG 5:00 PM CST NCTCOG, Metroplex Conference Room, 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011

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6 ATTACHMENT A PROJECT OVERVIEW The North Central Texas Council of Governments (hereafter NCTCOG) is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments and was established to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit, and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG serves 16 counties in the North Central Texas (NCT) region and represents over 230 member governments. Each legislative session, the State Legislature allocates funds generated by solid waste disposal fees through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to NCTCOG, the designated solid waste management agency for NCT. The Resource Conservation Council (RCC) is the regional solid waste advisory committee and provides support and advice to NCTCOG s Executive Board on methods to identify regional solid waste priorities and implementation projects, provide input to develop and update the regional solid waste management plan, and review solid waste grant applications and make recommendations on projects to be funded. NCTCOG uses a portion of the allocated solid waste funds to offer pass-through grants to eligible entities to advance the goals and strategies found in the regional solid waste management plan. In addition, allocated grant funds may also be used to fund regional projects that are consistent with the Regional Materials Management Plan, Planning for Sustainable Materials Management in NCT. This document can be found at During Fiscal Year 2018 and 2019, NCTCOG will be administering a Regional Recycling Project to improve recycling participation (diverting more recyclables from the waste stream) and decrease contamination (improving the quality & market value of the recyclables) in the 16-county NCTCOG region. This project will be guided by NCTCOG and members from the RCC subcommittees, while the results will be advanced through participating NCTCOG s member governments and shared throughout the entire region. The intent of this Request for Information (RFI) is to establish a scope of work that could be included in a formal Request for Proposals for a qualified Contractor(s) to provide the following services: 1. Identify and provide a data collection process and subsequent tracking tool for annual calculations of the residential recycling rate(s) of the member governments in the region. This effort should serve as an update of the 2007 Regional Recycling Rate Benchmarking Study and the 2010 Regional Recycling Rate Update, and produce a Data Collection and Analysis Study to determine residential recycling rates, the main causes of high rates of residential recycling contamination, and low rates of recycling participation in the NCT region, and; 2. Develop a Regional Recycling Educational Campaign by utilizing the information gathered from the Data Collection Study to formulate and promote a consistent message to the region regarding common recyclables. The objective of the project is to develop an understanding of the regional challenges/opportunities, and engage the cooperation of local Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) and other stakeholders to develop and support a mutual, consistent message to the region regarding recycling of common recyclables. Additionally, this project seeks to facilitate long-term solutions in educating the public on how to recycle more and recycle right.

7 SCOPE OF SERVICES The draft scope of services and deliverables is summarized by the tasks outlined below. Task 1. Data Collection and Analysis Contractor will identify and provide a data collection tool and perform a data collection study for cities and towns in the 16-county COG region to determine: The 2017 curb-side recycling rate(s) Causes of the high rates of recycling contamination Low rates of recycling participation The current Residential Recycling Capture Rate should be identified by an evaluation of at least 10 cities representing a diverse range of metrics (e.g. population size, geography, average household income, etc.). Capture Rate is defined by the Total Recyclables Recovered/Recycled (less contamination) divided by the Total Available Recyclables in the Residential stream/volume. An evaluation of cities with higher rates of recycling participation and/or low rates of contamination is desired to document the best practices they are using to achieve better results. The use and leverage of existing data and/or reports, previous waste characterization data, or other studies available from cities, could be used in lieu of documenting this information for a city (e.g. Fort Worth). Key Deliverables include: Develop data collection process/survey of selected cities in the NT area to determine residential recycling capture rate and level of contamination. Identifying key issues and barriers to residential recycling. Recommending strategies, best practices, etc. to improve regional recycling participation. Document task outcomes.

8 Task 2. Survey and Evaluation of MRF-sheds A survey and documentation of the materials accepted or not accepted in all of the NCT Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) will be required and will focus on residential recycling. For each MRF-shed, the desire is to determine what recycling messages are being heard and are provided to residents. A MRF-shed is defined as a group of communities that funnel material into the same MRF. The objective of this task is to determine what materials are being accepted, what materials are claimed to be accepted, what recycling messages residents are given, and what commonalities or differences in accepted materials at MRFs exist in NCT. Key Deliverables include: Making site visits to each large, commercial MRF within the North Texas area to determine major recycling/contamination challenges at each MRF. Production of a map of each MRF with each MRF s corresponding accepted/non-accepted materials as of time of visit. Conduct and facilitate meetings with NCT MRF s and key stakeholders to develop a regionally agreed upon list of acceptable recyclable materials and non-accepted materials for the educational campaign and develop a common set of terms and common language to be used for public engagement. Qualitative discussion of key types of materials that are being processed at MRFs. Document task outcomes.

9 Task 3: Creation of Data Tool NCTCOG desires to identify and complete set-up of a data tool that will be publicly available on the NCTCOG website and will be updated on an ongoing basis by NCTCOG. The data tool will enable the RCC and NCT region to track a defined set of metrics including, but not limited to, waste generated, diversion rates, materials accepted, composted material, and results of this entire project, etc. for each city that chooses to participate voluntarily. Considerations such as the initial, yearly, long-term maintenance, ease of use, ability to share data amongst entities, file formats, and others as identified by a project advisory committee and NCTCOG should be incorporated into the review of potential off-the-shelf products. Key Deliverables include: Set up annual reporting structure and content to streamline information management for recycling and solid waste data for municipalities. Recommendations on how the NCTCOG can effectively implement and sustain the program in the future. Document task outcomes.

10 Task 4. Create Regional Educational Campaign The information gathered from the Data Collection Study will be used to develop an Educational Recycling Campaign to formulate and develop a consistent message regarding recycling of common recyclables. Collaboration with key stakeholders will be required to develop innovative solutions and determine how we can best reach the consumer to recycle more and recycle right with the goal that better communication leads to better recycling. Marketing/campaign assets (branding, videos, flyers, etc.) would be available to all entities with recycling programs in the NCT region and could be tailored by member governments to direct their citizens to specific website/areas for more details (for differences or additional opportunities). A summary of ways that NCTCOG can measure and track the impact that the campaign has on behavior changes is desired, including aspects such as a timeline for tracking, performance metrics that could be used, how to collect or evaluate the data, and what key elements of the campaign should be measured to show the impacts of the efforts. Key Deliverables include: Develop short videos that will support social media and online communications related to the educational campaign for increasing recycling participation and decreasing contamination. Conduct survey of focus groups to determine effectiveness of the recycling messages to reach all audiences and overcome barriers of education, language, and culture. Develop multiple Public Service Announcement concepts related to recycling participation and contamination issues in the region, with consideration for both English and Spanish versions. Design various marketing material assets to support the campaign including, but not limited to, flyers, bill inserts, recycling cart stickers, etc., with consideration for both English and Spanish versions. Develop and design a series of social media posts (on multiple platforms) and other graphic design efforts to support the campaign to increase recycling participation and reduce contamination, with consideration for both English and Spanish versions. Develop a timeline for the campaign and media buy. Develop online educational toolkit for cities that includes all of the media assets and deliverables from this task, which any city may utilize for their residential recycling program. Any city can incorporate their individual branding and customization that they desire. Develop performance measures and measure performance/impacts of various campaign elements. Document task outcomes.