VIDEO: Dolcefino is Back and Saying Republic Should Honor the Curbside-Recycling Deal

SAN ANGELO, TX — Wayne Dolcefino is back with his latest video about the continuing saga of Republic Services and its trash contract with Republic Services.

In the video, he urges citizens of San Angelo to stand firm and hold Republic accountable for the deal they made. Republic requested the City modify the 10-year trash collection contract to either eliminate curbside recycling, or to charge the City more per residential customer to retain the service. Republic bills the City per month for the total of each residential trash customer. The City then bills the resident as an additional charge on the water bill.

WATCH:
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Dolcefino released a long series of videos about the City of San Angelo’s mishandling of the 2014 trash contract it inked with Republic Services.

Republic claims the global market for recyclables has crashed and there is no longer a marketplace for San Angelo’s recyclables. Rather than end recyclable pickup out-of-hand, Republic chose to activate a provision of their contract with the City that allows them to seek more compensation should market conditions change. The contract mentions labor costs, not recyclable marketplaces.

At the Oct. 16 City Council meeting, City Operations Director Shane Kelton will present the results of the City’s online survey about what to do about curbside recycling. The survey did not have an option to ask the City Council to enforce the contract as-is, making Republic keep the terms of the original deal.

The contract specifies that if the City and Republic cannot come to an agreement on increased charges or a different service offering, the trash company can give the City 180 days notice before ending trash collection. Texas Disposal Systems was at the forum profiled in Dolcefino’s video and stated then that they can easily offer the service in Republic’s absence.

Not said in the discussions is what will Republic do to have the City pay it back for the depreciated amount for the new equipment it purchased to execute the contract. Nor has Republic’s soft promise to build a recycling facility capable of more deeply sorting recyclables. The contract mentions a Material Recovery Facility, or an MRF, but doesn’t define it or specify exactly when Republic will install one.

A Republic executive told San Angelo’s apartment landlords in August 2014, about four weeks after the contract was signed, that the MRF in Fort Worth was a $22 million facility and his words could be interpreted as saying Republic intended to build the same recycling technology here.

In the meantime, Republic contracted with a local recycling company, Butt’s Recycling, to handle the approximate 350 tons of recyclables collected per month. The three-year contract with Butt’s ended in August and Butt’s refused to sign another contract, according to Republic.

The catalyst for Republic’s change was that Butt’s is currently handling Republic’s recyclables for $150 per ton, costing the trash company $55,000 per month.

Dolcefino said Republic is whining. Republic has made a fortune on San Angelo’s trash contract and landfill contract. The City needs to make sure they enforce the contact and make Republic stick to the deal, he said in the video.