More competition in recycling urged

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 | 11:03 a.m.

A consultant recommended that local recycling companies be given greater opportunity to compete with garbage hauler Republic Services of Southern Nevada for commercial business.

That recommendation from Zia Engineering & Environmental Consultants Inc. of Las Cruces, N.M., will be considered as part of a strategy to help Clark County recycle at least 25 percent of its residential and commercial waste by 2005.

At a workshop Tuesday at the Ravenholt Public Health Center to discuss the proposed strategy, Zia project manager Richard Hertzberg said the county will not be able to achieve that target "without a significant commercial recycling effort."

"Our recommendation is that there should be free and open commerce in this area," Hertzberg said. "That's our understanding of what the practices are in most of the rest of the country."

Republic Services holds exclusive franchise agreements in the Las Vegas Valley to collect residential and commercial waste, which is taken to the company's Apex landfill. The company also provides curbside residential recycling services.

There is confusion, however, as to whether Republic's agreements with the county and with Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson preclude local recycling companies from executing separate contracts with businesses to recycle their waste.

"An interpretation that these recyclables belong only to one party is not a valid interpretation," Hertzberg said of Republic Services. "That needs to be clarified."

The county's recycling rate for municipal solid waste, 10.9 percent last year, was one of the lowest in the nation for a metropolitan area. Zia was hired by the Clark County Health District to come up with recycling proposals that could be included in the county's solid waste management plan. The Clark County District Board of Health is scheduled to vote on a new five-year solid waste plan in September.

Whether Republic Services agrees to share commercial business with local recyclers remains to be seen. Company vice president Alan Gaddy said after the work session that Republic Services has not yet had a chance to review that proposal, which he termed "a new concept."

"We've always been interested in recycling," Gaddy said. "If there is true recycling going on, we have never had a problem with local recyclers."

But the Nevada Resource Recovery Association, which represents about 30 local recyclers, sees it differently. Association president Rob Dorinson, who also owns Evergreen Recycling in Las Vegas, said many valley businesses assume they can deal only with Republic Services.

"They believe their choices are limited because of confusion about what independent recyclers are able to do," Dorinson said. "If we're serious about the 25 percent goal, the commercial waste generators must be given options, which now do not exist."

The county health district is expected to approve a full-time recycling coordinator this fall. But Zia also recommended that the county hire an outreach specialist to promote curbside recycling and make school presentations and hire a technical assistant to serve as a liaison between recyclers and businesses.

Increased state funding for recycling, improved political leadership on the issue, and easier access to recycling bins by apartment dwellers were also encouraged by Zia.

"The government sector needs to take a leadership role in the promotion of recycling in the community," Zia president and principal engineer Edward Martinez said. "We're looking at the government entities taking a more proactive role, not only in the leadership area, but in terms of being role models."