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News | May 5, 2015

Disposition Services contract supports Better Buying Power goals

DLA Disposition Services

A hazardous waste disposal contract awarded in January is an example of how DLA Disposition Services supports Better Buying Power by promoting competition and improving tradecraft in acquisition through increased small-business participation.  

The long-term, $8.2 million contract was the result of a competitive solicitation and went to Tri-State Government Services, a woman-owned small business located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The contract provides disposal of a variety of hazardous wastes for Defense Department customers around Jacksonville, Florida.  It also provides services such as testing and the handling of retrograded waste from Puerto Rico.  

Contracting Officer Sarah Rutkowski said the robust competition for the contract came primarily from market research. She said a sources sought announcement in Federal Business Opportunities paid off “as eight small businesses submitted responsive proposals this time around, and offers were very competitive.”  

A reverse auction to further support effective competition was held, according to DLA Disposition Services Acquisition Director Tracy Hart.  She said that approach resulted in a cost avoidance of $525,000.

Sheryl Woods, Disposition Services’ special assistant for small business, expressed appreciation for the efforts of  small businesses that provide hazardous waste disposal support to warfighters.  She said that in addition to providing environmental stewardship for the armed services, the effort is vital to unit and base commanders who can be held personally accountable for how hazardous waste is stored and handled.

All DLA Disposition Services service contracts for transportation, removal and disposal of hazardous waste for military units and bases are executed via individual task orders. Hart said that as DoD’s designated hazardous waste disposal provider, Disposition Services issues around 6,000 task orders a year, with an average of 160,000 items per order.  

Hart said that the people handling disposal contracts know how critical they are for military customers.  

“As a result, it’s ingrained in the staff’s culture to provide quick turnaround on task order requests,” she said.  

The result is that DLA Disposition Services beats overall DLA goals on how long it takes to issue a task order by a wide margin.  The quick issuance of individual task orders also reduces cycle times for the overall process, another BBP 3.0 goal, Hart said.

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles that DLA will highlight on BBP 3.0 called "Better Buying Power in Focus."