Seeking control: franchise rights to control generated material are shaping up as a recycling battleground

Recycling Today, May, 2003 by Dan Sandoval

No one contests that an increase in the recycling of C&D material would be welcome. However, some recyclers are concerned that legislation such as the Senate bill being introduced in Florida would unravel much of what traditional recyclers have accomplished.

A key concern is that while recyclers have worked very hard to differentiate recyclables from the waste stream, adding other materials to the "recycling" stream could sully the impression of recyclables as being a highly recycled (and recyclable) material.

Levetan says that if C&D material was classified the same as OCC, ferrous metal and various grades of paper could result in traditional recyclables being tarred by solid waste.

John Skinner, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America, says that there are several types of franchises, as well as other programs that various cities use. For franchise bidders, there are both exclusive and non-exclusive franchises. The advantages of the exclusive franchise, he notes, is that there is often an economies of scale benefit. "There are more efficiencies" with one company handling all the material.

The franchise issue, however, is primarily dealing with solid waste, rather than recyclables and solid waste. For opponents of franchising, concern always flows toward the assurance that recyclables are not considered part of the solid waste stream.

The advantage of franchises, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, is that the local governing authority is able to set minimum standards and environmental service requirements, Skinner adds.

And, since many recyclers focus most of their energies with collecting and processing recyclables from outside the residential sector, most franchise policies do not include them. Skinner says that the commercial stream is more toward the open market, which allows for competitive processes between various recycling companies.

There is a lack of clarity over whether franchise policies could have a negative (or positive) impact on the recycling industry.

While some opponents feel that the issuance of exclusive franchise agreements incorporates many of the most problematic aspects of flow control into the handling, transporting and collection of recyclables, most feel that in its present state, franchise agreements will have a minimal impact on the traditional recycling industry.

But for some recyclers, sorting through the current maze of arrangements and paying fees not figured into their operatings costs is proving troublesome.

WASTE EXPO TRASHES NEW ORLEANS

WasteExpo 2003 will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from June 3-5.

According to the WasteExpo Web site, www.wasteexposhow.com, the convention is the largest tradeshow in North America serving the $43 billion solid waste and recycling industry.

"Our mission is to organize an event that serves the waste and recycling industries--private sector, public sector and waste management processionals from all industries, companies large and small, from the United States and abroad," the Web site reads.