TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Michael Gibson, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Daniel Edwards, Assistant Director of Public Services,
Sheila Thomas-Ambat, Director of Public Services
DATE: October 5, 2026
RE:Title
PRATT Notice Of TerminationTitle
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal 4: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
Goal 5: Financially Sound City Providing Exemplary City Services
Executive Summary:
On June 8, 2026, City Council approved and authorized the execution of a one-year contract extension with Pratt Recycling, Inc. (Pratt) for Recycling Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Services, extending the agreement through June 30, 2027.
On September 14, 2026, the City received a Notice of Termination from Pratt. Pratt advised that it is unable to renew its existing facility lease and/or secure a suitable replacement facility. Pursuant to the termination provisions of the agreement, recycling processing services under the current contract will terminate effective January 12, 2027.
The termination requires the City to identify and implement an alternative recycling processing solution to maintain continuity of service for Fayetteville residents. Staff are evaluating several alternatives, including emergency/interim contractual arrangements, partnerships with other governmental agencies and private companies, a competitive procurement for recycling hauling and processing services, and the potential development of a City-owned recycling transloading facility at the City's T1 Transfer Station.
City Council is requested to review the alternatives under consideration and provide direction to staff to continue developing a combination of short-term and long-term solutions for recycling services beyond January 12, 2027.
Background:
On June 21, 2023, the City of Fayetteville and Pratt Recycling, Inc. executed an agreement for Material Recovery Facility Services, with services commencing July 1, 2023. The agreement established an initial three-year term ending June 30, 2026, and provided the opportunity for up to two additional one-year extensions upon mutual written agreement of the parties.
On June 8, 2026, City Council approved and authorized the first available one-year extension, extending the agreement through June 30, 2027.
On September 14, 2026, the City received a Notice of Termination from Pratt. Pratt cited its inability to renew its existing facility lease and/or secure a suitable replacement facility. Based on the termination provisions of the agreement, services will terminate effective January 12, 2027.
Pratt currently operates the primary Material Recovery Facility serving the Fayetteville and surrounding region. The closure of this facility will affect the recycling operations of the City as well as other municipalities, counties, businesses, and commercial customers throughout the region.
See the Material Recovery Facilities Map:
Under the City's current service model, the City contracts with Waste Management for residential recycling collection. Recyclable materials are collected every other week and delivered to Pratt's facility. Pratt receives, processes and distributes the material per their business model.
This arrangement allows collected recyclable materials to be delivered directly to a local MRF. Following Pratt's closure, the City may need to separately address one or more additional operational functions, including:
• Transloading: Establishing or securing a location to receive, consolidate, and load recyclable materials for transportation to another facility.
• Hauling: Transporting consolidated recyclable materials to an alternative MRF located outside the immediate region.
• Processing: Securing an agreement with an alternative MRF to receive, sort, process, and market or dispose of recyclable materials.
These additional requirements could increase costs, change collection and transportation procedures, and require new contractual arrangements
Issues/Analysis:
Because of the limited time remaining before Pratt's closure, staff is exploring whether an emergency or other legally permissible interim contractual arrangement can be established with an alternative service provider.
Potential entities being explored include Sonoco, Waste Management, GFL Environmental, Fort Bragg/Zero Waste, Cumberland County, and other potential partners or service providers.
Currently, staff's understanding is that Sonoco operates another MRF in the local area and from preliminary conversations will be interested in responding to an RFP however they would be looking to move the material to Raleigh and not process locally.
Other entities in the region, including Waste Management, GFL Environmental, Fort Bragg/Zero Waste, and Cumberland County, currently rely on Pratt for recycling processing. As a result, those entities may be evaluating similar alternatives and may face the same regional limitations regarding available transloading and processing infrastructure.
From staff’s understanding, Waste Management serves numerous counties and municipalities in the Fayetteville region for recycling and currently transports much of this material to Pratt. Several of these contracts have expiration dates within a relatively short period, creating an additional need for timely solutions. Waste Management is actively evaluating alternatives within its available resources and is expected to provide additional information as options are developed to the City.
If feasible, an interim agreement could cover up to 18 months, from January 2027 through June 30, 2028. This timeframe would provide the City additional time to evaluate long-term alternatives, conduct appropriate procurement processes, and determine whether permanent infrastructure, including a City transloading facility, is feasible.
Depending on the capabilities of the selected provider, an interim agreement could include some or all of the following:
• Receiving recyclable materials;
• Transloading and consolidating materials;
• Hauling materials to an alternative MRF;
• Processing and marketing recyclable commodities; and
• Other services necessary to maintain continuity of recycling operations.
Any emergency or interim procurement would be coordinated with the City's Purchasing Department and City Attorney's Office to ensure compliance with applicable procurement requirements.
2. Partner with Other Agencies and Private Companies
Staff is exploring opportunities to collaborate with surrounding municipalities, counties, regional agencies, and private companies to identify available receiving, transloading, hauling, and processing capacity.
Regional collaboration could provide opportunities to:
• Share available infrastructure;
• Combine recyclable material volumes;
• Share transportation costs;
• Access additional processing capacity; and
• Develop regional solutions that may be more sustainable than individual arrangements.
The City will continue discussions with potential partners to determine whether existing facilities, equipment, transportation resources, or processing capacity can be utilized to meet the City's immediate and long-term needs.
This approach may also be pursued in combination with an interim contract or a future City-owned transloading facility.
3. Request for Proposals (RFP) for hauling and processing Services
Staff is developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit competitive proposals from qualified companies capable of providing recycling-related services following the termination of the Pratt agreement.
The City is actively and immediately pursuing an RFP for recycling services. Staff is working to expedite the release of the RFP, subject to completion of the required procurement and legal review processes.
The RFP could allow vendors to propose individual service components or a comprehensive recycling solution, including:
• Receiving and storage of recyclable materials;
• Transloading and consolidation;
• Transportation to an approved MRF;
• Processing and sorting;
• Marketing of recyclable commodities; and
• Other services necessary to provide a complete recycling solution.
The RFP would provide the City an opportunity to evaluate available service models, operational capabilities, service reliability, infrastructure requirements, and costs.
However, staff recognizes that the current regional market has limited available MRF processing capacity. Based on information currently available to staff, there are limited facilities in the immediate area capable of processing the City's residential recycling stream. Accordingly, the RFP is being developed as one component of the City's overall strategy rather than as the sole solution to the January 2027 deadline.
4. Evaluate Development of a Recycling Transloading Facility at T1.(Long term solution)
Staff is evaluating the feasibility of developing a recycling transloading operation at the City's existing T1 Transfer Station property as a long term solution.
A transloading facility would allow recycling collection vehicles to deliver recyclable materials to a centralized local location. Materials could then be consolidated into larger loads and transported to an MRF outside the immediate region.
A City transloading operation could provide several potential operational benefits:
• Collection efficiency: Recycling collection vehicles could continue to unload locally rather than travel to a distant processing facility.
• Transportation efficiency: Materials could be consolidated into larger loads, potentially reducing the number of long-distance transportation trips.
• Operational flexibility: The City could potentially contract separately for transloading, hauling, and processing services rather than relying on a single local MRF provider.
• Long-term sustainability: A City-controlled transloading operation could provide infrastructure to support the recycling program over the long term and could potentially support regional partnerships.
• Greater market access: A transloading operation could allow the City to access MRFs and processing facilities outside the immediate Fayetteville market, expanding the number of potential processing providers.
Several factors would need to be evaluated before determining whether development of a T1 transloading facility is feasible and financially justified, including:
• Available space at T1;
• Existing site conditions;
• Current lease obligations;
• Site development requirements;
• Environmental considerations;
• Permitting requirements;
• Required infrastructure improvements;
• Equipment requirements;
• Staffing and operational requirements;
• Capital costs;
• Ongoing operating costs;
• Transportation costs; and
• Implementation timeline.
Although T1 is owned by the City, the property is currently leased to GFL Environmental under a seven-year lease. Staff would need to evaluate the existing lease and coordinate with GFL regarding any potential use of the property for recycling transloading operations.
5. Potential Temporary Interruption of Recycling Services
Staff does not present the temporary discontinuation of recycling service as a recommended alternative or Council action at this time.
However, if the City and its regional partners are unable to secure a legally and operationally feasible recycling processing solution before January 12, 2027, a temporary interruption in recycling service could occur.
Staff will continue to pursue available alternatives with the goal of avoiding such an interruption.
Overall Approach
Staff is pursuing the alternatives described above concurrently because no single solution has yet been identified that can independently address both the immediate January 2027 deadline and the City's long-term recycling needs.
An interim contractual arrangement may be necessary to maintain uninterrupted recycling services beginning January 13, 2027, while the City completes a competitive procurement process, evaluates regional partnerships, and determines whether development of a permanent transloading facility at T1 is feasible and provides sufficient long-term operational value.
The City's long-term objective is to establish a recycling program that provides reliable and predictable service to Fayetteville residents, maintains operational efficiency, provides appropriate access to regional processing markets, and reduces the City's vulnerability to the loss of a single local processing provider.
Staff will return to City Council with additional information and specific recommendations as potential service arrangements, costs, procurement requirements, and infrastructure options are further developed.
Budget Impact:
The approximate remaining budget (Post January 12, 2027 Termination) for PRATT, Recycling Material Recovery Facility Services, is $392,000.
This item is informational at this time. Staff will return to Council with detailed budget implications as specific alternatives are developed.
Any required budget amendments or appropriations will be presented to City Council through the appropriate process once a specific service solution has been identified.
Options:
Option 1:
Council may accept the information provided by staff and authorize the City Manager to continue developing and pursuing a combination of solutions to address the immediate service deadline and establish a sustainable long-term recycling program, including:
a. Pursuing an emergency or interim contract for continued recycling services;
b. Continuing to engage surrounding agencies, municipalities, counties, regional partners, and private companies to identify collaborative recycling solutions;
c. Continuing development of an RFP for alternative recycling hauling, transloading, processing, and related services; and
d. Continuing to evaluate the feasibility of developing a recycling transloading facility at the City's T1 Transfer Station.
Staff would return to City Council with additional information and specific implementation recommendations as the alternatives are further developed.
Option 2:
Council may decline to authorize further pursuit of the alternatives presented and provide additional direction to staff regarding the City's desired approach to maintaining recycling services following Pratt's termination.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
It is recommended that City Council accept the information provided by staff and authorize the City Manager to continue developing and pursuing a combination of solutions to address the immediate service deadline and establish a sustainable long-term recycling program, including:
a. An emergency/interim contract for continued recycling services, if feasible;
b. Partnerships with other agencies and private companies;
c. Development of an RFP for alternative recycling hauling, transloading, processing, and related services; and
d. Evaluation of the feasibility of developing a recycling transloading facility at the City's T1 Transfer Station.
Staff will return to City Council with additional information, cost estimates, procurement requirements, and specific implementation recommendations as viable alternatives are developed.
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Attachments:
Pratt Recycling Notice of Termination - September 14, 2026
Pratt Contract
Pratt Extension
Waste Management Contract
Waste Management Extension
PPT