Dive Brief:

• The Oakland City Council in California awarded a $1 billion waste contract to a Waste Management competitor, California Waste Solutions (CWS). By collecting signatures from voters, Waste Management is looking to pass a referendum that could potentially overturn the council’s decision.
• Waste Management will need to have around 21,000 signatures, or 10% of the city’s voters, in order to place a hold on the contract. The community would then have a chance to vote on a referendum that could overturn the city’s deal with CWS.  
• Waste Management is asking voters to sign three separate petitions in order to revoke every ordinance authorizing the city’s contracts with CWS. The agreements were divided into three contracts: trash removal, residential recycling, and composting.

Dive Insight:

The grassroots political campaign is certainly a unique one -- but Waste Management is not relying on signatures alone to overturn the council’s decision. On August 18, the company announced it had filed a lawsuit against the city of Oakland, CA. The suit claims multiple violations by the city and alleges that CWS did not follow proper procedure regarding its waste proposal.