Republic faces monopoly claims

Grace Leong

Wednesday, June 5, 2002 | 10:58 a.m.

Republic Silver State Disposal Inc., which was accused in April by two small construction debris recyclers of monopolizing the Las Vegas waste recycling market, is denying the allegations.

Nevada Construction Cleanup Inc. of Las Vegas and Lincoln County-based Western Elite Inc., which receives the recycled waste materials from Nevada Construction and further processes it into compost, sued Republic, the Clark County Board of Health and the Clark County Commission in Clark County District Court.

The suit alleged new recycling laws -- which the plaintiffs criticize as "ambiguous" and "invalid" -- allowed Republic to maintain a "stranglehold" on the waste management market that has "rendered Clark County an environmental embarrassment of the nation."

The plaintiffs cited a Jan. 10 letter by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the Health District that noted Nevada has one of the lowest state recycling rates in the nation.

The plaintiffs said they fear amendments passed in January to waste recycling laws by the Clark County Health Board may force them to shut down because they prohibit small recyclers from shipping waste to recycling plants outside of Clark County.

Nevada Construction, which said its application for permits to operate a transfer station and recycling plant was unfairly denied in 1998, said the defendants "arbitrarily" awarded to Republic an exclusive franchise to operate recycling plants in Clark County -- allegedly without holding a competitive bid.

But Republic, in court papers filed May 28, defended its "contractual right to be the sole hauler of all solid waste material" and accused the two recyclers of wrongfully generating revenue from activities they "freely admit and acknowledged" as being illegal and in violation of Republic's franchise agreement.

"The minimal burden, if any, on interstate commerce caused by the solid waste management laws is outweighed by the environmental benefits of having waste 'flow control,' " said Republic and Clark County in their May 28 response.

Meanwhile the two recyclers, in a motion for summary judgment filed May 28, challenged the validity of the new recycling laws, saying the amendments passed in January weren't submitted for approval to the Nevada Board of Health.

The plaintiffs also said the procedures used to amend the laws weren't "within the legislated authority" of the Clark County Health Board.

Republic Silver State Disposal Inc. is owned by Republic Services of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It does business in Las Vegas as Republic Services of Southern Nevada.