Mayor Sylvester Turner
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that he has reached agreement with Waste Management (WM) on a proposed new contract that will allow the city to continue offering recycling services without any disruption. The proposal, expected to be presented to City Council for approval in two weeks, is a two-year contract with a $90 per ton processing fee and a guarantee to WM of at least 75 percent of the City’s recycling stream.
The only change in service that Houstonians will notice is the elimination of glass from the list of items that are acceptable for placement in the green curbside recycling bins. The exclusion of glass will lower processing costs for WM, as glass generally breaks during collection and transportation to the processing site. It is also unduly destructive to the processing equipment. Residents may continue to drop off glass for recycling at the City’s neighborhood depositories.
“I want to thank Waste Management for being willing to reconsider our arrangement and engage in shared sacrifice,” said Mayor Turner. “This agreement makes good economic sense for the city and for Waste Management. It reaffirms our commitment to recycling, doesn’t tie the City to a long-term contract, allows Waste Management to avoid the employee layoffs that would have likely resulted from cancellation of service in Houston and provides an opportunity for potential competitors to enter the market.”
The original negotiated agreement would have locked the city into a six-year contract with a cost of $95 per ton. Citing the need for a shorter contract in case market conditions improve, Mayor Turner countered with a two-year offer at $104 per ton. WM declined the mayor’s counter and submitted a three-year deal with costs of $7.6 million over two years and $11.5 million over three years. The new agreement saves the City more than $900 thousand per year and $2 million over the two year period.
“I want to applaud the mayor and staff for working hard to find creative solutions to reach a mutually-acceptable agreement,” said Waste Management TexOma Area Vice President Don Smith. “Removing glass from the recycle stream was a painful decision but allowed the City to keep the interests of the residents of the City of Houston front and center as they worked with us to find a solution to the City’s recycling needs.”
The City’s current contract with WM is set to expire on March 16, 2016, but WM has agreed to an extension until the new proposal is considered by City Council on March 23. City Council does not meet next week due to spring break.
Clearly, Mayor Turner and Waste Management got that idea for a two-year deal from me. It’s unfortunate that glass will no longer be accepted for curbside recycling – I get it, and I know that helped reduce the cost for the city – but given the closing of the Center Street recycling dropoff location, this is a pain for me. Looks like the North Main Repository is my new friend. I’ll take the trade if that’s what it took, but I hope some day we can get that restored. Kudos to all for getting this deal done with no disruption in service.
UPDATE: Here’s the Chron story, with reactions from various people, and a statement from Melanie Scruggs of the Texas Campaign for the Environment:
“Over the past several weeks, thousands of Houstonians have emailed, called, written letters or testified in favor of continuing curbside recycling. Many residents also called on Waste Management through social media, urging them to agree to a short-term, affordable deal with the city. We are tremendously grateful that Houstonians’ voices have been heard so clearly!”
“It is unfortunate that a lack of recycling competition, low commodity prices and strained city finances have resulted in shortened public services. It is a temporary step backward that curbside recycling will no longer accept glass, as this will eliminate the energy savings of recycling glass and send more material to landfills. We advise the public to reduce and reuse glass containers, especially while they are to be excluded from the big, green bins, and to use neighborhood drop-offs to recycle glass.”
“Now that curbside recycling is no longer in peril, we call on Mayor Turner to lead Houston in the next step toward ‘zero waste’ by establishing a zero waste goal and pursuing a long-term Zero Waste plan that will create new recycling businesses, generate more recycling jobs, and divert more materials, including glass, from landfills over time.”
For what it’s worth, in the early days of the small-bin recycling, neither glass nor cardboard were accepted, and I think only #1 and #2 plastics were taken. We’ve come a long way even with this step back, is what I’m saying.
“Clearly, Mayor Turner and Waste Management got that idea for a two-year deal from me.”
LOL made me smile….
This is why I read your blog.