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Fuse Lit For Garbage Explosion

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

Hillsborough County commissioners last week did not clamp a lid on the garbage controversy. The board's refusal to crack down on big independent haulers who are violating the county's garbage contract set the stage for either a renegotiation of the trash franchises, a lawsuit or both.

Whatever happens, residents of the unincorporated areas are in for higher rates and possibly a confusing change in haulers.

Clearly, the county's three franchised haulers have a legal agreement with the county that makes this deal: In exchange for low rates for residential routes, the franchise holders have exclusive rights to compete among themselves to haul most other commercial garbage.

The ordinance supporting that contract is less clear. Last week, the board's refusal to tighten the ordinance in a compromise agreement with some of the haulers seemed to also say the county was no longer going to try to enforce the contract, to the delight of non-franchised haulers. Many of them have built good businesses by openly undercutting the franchise holders.

Yet Commissioner Jim Norman is correct that the story doesn't end here. He is the only member on the board in office during the trash upheavals of the mid-1990s. The garbage issue could blow up again, he warned. Because no one appeared to be listening, his warning bears repeating:

"Let me tell you, I've never seen a county more turned upside-down than when we rebid all these contracts ... The phones were shut down for months. The haulers didn't know the routes... Nobody was getting their garbage picked up, for months and months and months. I'm telling you, it was a shock."

With another garbage storm brewing, it would be wise to add a big supply of plastic garbage bags to your household survival kit.

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