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Haulers May Have To Vie For Contracts

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 17, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Nine haulers may find themselves competing to keep doing business in Pasco County as commissioners consider converting to a franchise system for trash and recycling collections.

The board at a Wednesday workshop reviewed a proposal to divide the county into four franchise areas: east, central, northwest and southwest. Boundaries are based on geography, population density and the cost of providing service to rural and urban areas.

After a 2 1/2 -hour workshop, commissioners appeared to be leaning toward the franchise idea as well as mandatory recycling. If they go that way, companies would have to bid on providing trash and/or recycling pickups.

"If you really want to increase recycling, you really have to mandate it and have residents pay for the service," said Bruce Kennedy, assistant county administrator for utilities.

The approximately 400,000 residents in unincorporated Pasco produce an average 7 pounds of trash each per day, or about half a million tons annually, but recycle only 4,000 tons of plastic, glass and aluminum each year, Kennedy said. The rest of the trash is sent to a waste-to-energy plant or to a landfill in Oceola County. The incinerator is about 40,000 tons over capacity.

Increasing recycling would not be enough to solve Pasco's solid waste woes, Kennedy said, but it would be "the right thing."

Kennedy and County Administrator John Gallagher in the past have said increasing recycling would be expensive and cumbersome for Pasco's haulers, who would have to convert equipment to handle recyclables.
Recycling coordinator Rachel Surrency showed a DVD, provided by Waste Management Inc., describing a system where residents could deposit all recyclable materials in one collection bin. The materials are sorted at a plant and sent out for recycling.

Currently, residents must purchase blue bags for recyclables. Pasco does not collect newspaper, cardboard, magazines, cereal boxes, milk cartons and most plastic items.

Kennedy said the presentation was "not an endorsement," but other haulers at the workshop objected, noting that Waste Management pulled out of most of Pasco last year because of high costs, leaving others to pick up the slack.

"What I saw up there, it almost looked like a paid advertisement for Waste Management," said Steve Serafino, owner of Accurate Waste.

Carol Cruz of Dade City also was hesitant to trust Waste Management.

"Waste Management did abandon us in east Pasco. If they did not get enough recycled materials from us, would they abandon us again?" she said.

Justin Fletcher of Central Carting said his company invested $1 million in equipment after Waste Management pulled out and would lose money if it does not get a franchise.

"You're putting a lot of companies out of business," he said. "A lot of smaller companies could not handle those large areas."

Commissioner Michael Cox, who supports mandatory recycling, said companies that were loyal to Pasco should get preference for a franchise.

Surrency said commissioners should give residents what they're asking for: more recycling.

"You're not going to make all the haulers happy, but you're here to serve the citizens," she said.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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