Trash contractor gives Huntington a $300,000 credit after charging too much for recycling

Republic Services has agreed to give Huntington Beach a $300,000 credit after violating part of its trash services contract with the city for years.

Republic, formerly Rainbow Environmental Services, charged Huntington Beach ratepayers a $3 monthly recycling fee while providing Fountain Valley senior citizens a discounted rate of $2.70, Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates said.

That violated Republic’s contract with Huntington Beach, which has a clause that the company cannot charge Huntington Beach a higher recycling fee than other cities, Gates said.

Gates said the city determined the breach of contract about a year ago and said it went on at least four years. He worked with the City Council and Republic to come to the agreement on the credit through confidential negotiations, he said.

“We are pleased that the matter was resolved to the city’s satisfaction,” Republic Services said in an emailed statement. “We value our longstanding relationship and look forward to our continued work with the city to provide high-quality service our customers have come to rely on.”

Apart from the credit, the agreement called for Republic to modify the Fountain Valley rate to conform to the contract.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot