Recycling Nets Carson Trash Pact for 1 Firm

With one South Bay city after another grappling with the costs of state-mandated recycling, Carson has come up with a new wrinkle to pay for a citywide program that goes into effect July 1.

In return for providing free curbside recycling service, Western Waste of Gardena has been granted an expansion of its residential trash franchise with the city to cover all commercial and industrial waste as well. The move freezes out other waste hauling companies, which currently pick up nonresidential trash in the city.

City officials estimate that the commercial and industrial contract, which has renewable options for Western Waste, will produce gross annual revenues of $5 million for the company.

The push for recycling stems from a state law that mandates a 25% reduction in trash delivered to landfills by 1995 and a 50% reduction by 2000. Most South Bay cities either have a recycling program in place or are making plans to begin one soon.

Officials in three South Bay cities that have recycling programs said in interviews that they do not have a similar arrangement linking their recycling program to a franchise expansion.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Ron Pfeifer, district manager of BFI Waste Systems, complained that the council had not sought bids before it awarded Western Waste the exclusive commercial and industrial franchise on June 5.

Acknowledging that there is no legal bar to awarding an exclusive franchise without competitive bidding, Pfeifer said it is unfair and that BFI stands to lose about $1 million in commercial and industrial trash collection fees in Carson.

“We take a marketplace that generates $5 million in revenue annually and give it to (Western Waste) without a bid, and not only give it to them, but give it to them as an evergreen contract,” with renewal rights, he said.

“I’m from Chicago. I haven’t seen this sort of stuff since Mayor (Richard J.) Daley died.”

But his complaint was to no avail.

Mayor Pro Tem Kay Calas said that BFI had the city’s residential trash contract for a number of years and that Pfeifer was complaining now only because he was not the chosen one.

Councilman Michael Mitoma added that BFI is in a poor position to object, because it has had a trash contract in Hermosa Beach for 22 years without bidding.

Richard Heredia, president of the Carson/Dominguez Business Council, a group of two dozen Carson businesses that monitors council actions, said at the meeting that the council should have notified businesses that trash collection was coming up before the franchise expansion was approved.

“The business council is concerned that the City Council’s action takes away the right to choose a vendor.” Heredia said. “There was no notice given to the business community.”

Heredia added that businesses are fearful that their rates will be raised, in part to cover costs of the recycling program.

But Mitoma said state law provides a five-year grace period that protects existing trash-hauling fees and arrangements, if a city awards an exclusive garbage contract. “It’s a win-win situation,” he said.

That provision means that, although the exclusive franchise will officially go into effect on July 1, it could be up to five years before Western Waste takes over all existing contracts.

In choosing to expand Western Waste’s franchise, the council rejected an alternative to charge residential customers $1.25 a month for the recycling program.

Carson officials reported contacting 14 Southern California cities about recycling programs.

Officials in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes said in interviews that they were unaware of an arrangement quite like Carson’s.

Ken Montgomery, Redondo Beach director of public works, said his city will probably select a small number of firms eligible to collect commercial and industrial trash. Those companies would then compete for customers. Montgomery said he expects that some trash collection firms will offer free recycling in bidding to get on the city’s approved list.

“They might throw that in to get the business,” he said.

Redondo Beach, which began its program last July, charges residential customers $1 a month per housing unit for recycling.

In Manhattan Beach, the City Council put the trash contract out to bid and selected Western Waste to handle all residential and commercial waste, according to Carson officials. The charge for recycling is 70 cents a month per unit, but 50 cents is returned to customers as long as more than 50% of the city’s households participate in the program, according to a Manhattan Beach official.

Since the program started Dec. 4, participation has been above 50%, the official said.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, which started its recycling program in 1988, the fee is $1.38 a month, an official said. Torrance charges $2.18 a month in a pilot program, according to the Carson study.

In Burbank, residents are not charged for the recycling program, and the city, which bought and maintains trucks and containers, receives funds from the trash collector, the Carson report said.

In Walnut, the recycling charge is $1.20 a month, according to the report.

No recycling programs were reported in Inglewood, Gardena, Cypress, Huntington Beach, Cerritos, Long Beach, Buena Park and Lakewood.