How does an HOA board bid out trash and recycling service for the community?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 24, 2026

How an HOA board bids out trash and recycling: check city franchise rules, write the service spec, compare 5-year cost, cap rate increases and tell owners.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

First find out whether the association is allowed to choose a hauler at all. In many cities the city collects the trash or has granted one company a franchise, and a private contract would be void or would duplicate a bill owners already pay. If the market is open, write down the service you want, send the same request to at least three haulers, compare the full cost over the contract term instead of the first month's rate, and sign a contract that caps increases and lets you leave. Then give owners a clear switch date and cart instructions. This guide is the board's procurement job. For the owner-side question of whether a trash charge can be billed through dues, see our guide on whether an HOA can charge you for trash or valet trash service.

Find out who is allowed to collect

Call the city's solid waste department, or the county if you are outside city limits, and ask three questions. Does the city collect from homes like ours? Has it granted an exclusive franchise for residential collection? If we contract privately, will owners still be billed for city service? Texas. Health and Safety Code section 364.034(a) lets a public agency or county offer solid waste service, require people in its territory to use it and charge fees. Subsection (e) says nothing in that section limits a city or county's power to enforce a franchise or contract for collection, and lets a city make its franchise supersede other contracts inside city limits. An HOA inside a Texas city with mandatory city service or a franchise may have no choice to make. Florida. Section 403.706(1) makes cities responsible for collecting and transporting solid waste to county disposal facilities, and many do it by contract or franchise. The HOA bid statute, section 720.3055(2)(a)2., exempts services provided under a local government franchise from the competitive bid requirement, which tells you how often Florida associations end up with the franchise hauler. Colorado. It depends on the city. Denver's Solid Waste Management rules, effective January 9, 2025, cover single family homes, buildings of seven units or fewer, and townhomes no more than two stories tall with ground-level entries. A Denver townhome community may already be on city service. Many suburbs leave residential trash to private haulers, which is where HOA contracts are common. Get the answer in writing, by email is fine, and file it with the contract.

Write down the service you are buying

Haulers price what you ask for, and vague requests get proposals nobody can compare. Settle these before you ask for prices: 1. Number of homes, a map, gate codes and any weight limits on private streets or bridges. 2. Curbside carts for each home, or shared dumpsters or a compactor. 3. Trash pickups per week, and recycling weekly or every other week. 4. Yard waste, and whether it is seasonal. 5. Bulk item pickup: how many per home per year and what counts. 6. Who owns the carts, what sizes are offered, and the charge for a second cart or a replacement. 7. Earliest start time on residential streets and the holiday schedule. 8. How quickly a missed pickup must be collected and how owners report it. 9. Whether the association pays one invoice or the hauler bills each owner. Put a short survey question to owners before you lock the scope: "Would you keep weekly recycling if it added about $[amount] a month to your dues? Yes / No / No preference." A scope the owners never wanted is how a board ends up rebidding in year two.

State bid rules that apply

Texas Property Code section 209.0052(c) says an association that proposes to contract for services costing more than $50,000 must solicit bids or proposals using a bid process the association establishes. Figure the total over the full term, since a three-year contract for 80 homes can pass $50,000 even when the monthly bill looks small. If a board member or relative has a financial interest in a bidder, section 209.0052(b) requires at least two other bids from unrelated companies if reasonably available, and that director stays out of the bids, the discussion and the vote. Under section 209.0051(c) the board may discuss contract negotiations in a closed executive session, but the decision must be summarized in the minutes afterward. Florida section 720.3055(1) requires competitive bids when a service contract's payments exceed 10 percent of the total annual budget, including reserves, and says the association does not have to take the lowest bid. A contract awarded by competitive bid can be renewed without rebidding if it lets the board cancel on 30 days' notice. In Colorado, follow the bylaws and any purchasing policy the board has adopted. Rules vary by state and by governing documents, and this guide is general education, not legal advice.

Compare offers on five-year cost, not the first bill

Put every proposal on one sheet: base rate per home per month, the annual increase and how it is calculated, fuel or environmental surcharges, disposal fee pass-throughs, cart charges, bulk pickup fees and the term. The annual increase decides more than the starting rate. Here is a worked example with placeholder numbers, not market rates. Take 80 homes at $22 per home per month, which is $21,120 in year one. With a 5 percent annual increase, the five-year total is about $116,700. With increases capped at 3 percent, it is about $112,130. That is roughly $4,570 over five years from one contract term, before any surcharges. Ask each hauler to show every fee that can appear on the invoice and put the list in the contract. Surcharges that are not in the contract should not appear on the bill.

Contract terms to insist on

Read the renewal clause before anything else, including in the contract you have now. Many hauler contracts renew automatically unless the association gives notice in a window that closes months before the end date. Put that date on the board calendar the day you sign. Ask for these terms: 1. A cap on annual increases, stated as a percentage or tied to a named index, with any change in writing 60 days ahead. 2. Surcharges limited to the ones listed in the contract. 3. A missed pickup collected within one business day of the report, and a credit after repeated misses. 4. Termination by the association for repeated service failures after written notice and a chance to cure, plus termination for convenience on 60 or 90 days' notice if you can get it. 5. Hauler responsibility for damage to curbs, pavement, gates and landscaping, with certificates of general liability and auto insurance naming the association as additional insured. 6. Cart delivery and removal at no charge when service starts and ends. Sample motion: "Move to award the residential trash and recycling contract to [Hauler] at $[rate] per home per month for a [term] term beginning [date], with annual increases capped at [percent], and to authorize the president to sign after the association's attorney reviews the renewal and termination terms."

Switching haulers and telling owners

A switch takes about three months. A sample timeline: Day 1: check the current contract's renewal and termination notice dates, and call the city. Weeks 1 to 3: owner survey, scope, bid packet out to at least three haulers. Week 6: proposals back. Build the comparison sheet and check two references for each finalist, ideally HOAs of similar size. Week 7: board vote at an open meeting. Send the old hauler written termination notice by the method the contract requires, and keep proof of delivery. Weeks 8 to 11: new hauler confirms the route and cart delivery dates. Send owners the first notice. Week 12: carts swapped and service starts. Sample notice: "Starting [date], [Hauler] will collect trash on [day] and recycling on [day]. New carts arrive the week of [date]. Leave your old carts at the curb on [date] and the old company will remove them. Bulk items: [rule]. Report a missed pickup to [phone or email] by [time] the next day." Send it twice, and post it at the mailboxes or pool gate.

Mistakes boards make

Signing a private contract inside a city franchise area. Owners pay twice or the contract is unenforceable, and the board finds out from the first angry email. Missing the auto-renewal window by a week and getting locked in for another term at the old hauler's new rate. Choosing the lowest first-month price and ignoring the increase clause and surcharges. Leaving heavy trucks off the pavement conversation. A loaded garbage truck is among the heaviest vehicles that use your streets every week, so tell your paving engineer the pickup schedule, and read our guide on how to plan an HOA street repaving and sealcoat program for how that feeds the street plan. Changing pickup days without telling owners twice. Most complaints after a switch come from carts at the curb on the old day.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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