Taxpayer Subsidization of Private Business in Laredo, Texas

It is regrettable that self interest and greed can sabotage the best of programs and the best of intentions. It is little wonder that people have become so apathetic towards our political process, to even the Municipal level. Below is just one example of the consequences of political apathy:

The City of Laredo has invested a lot of money into its current recycling program. In the past, they had partnered with Southern Sanitation, and the partnership produced negligible results at best. When Southern Sanitation declined to renew their contract with the City, the recycling program fell entirely within the scope of City of Laredo operations. To the surprise of no one, the program blossomed and produced better results than it did while in partnership to a privately owned business. This is why it is so surprising that City Management would insist on allowing a private business to sabotage the recycling program once again.

             The amounts of recycled materials reported for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, by the City of Laredo to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) were about 1% of the total residential trash collected for those years. In other words, to realize a savings of one year’s worth of air space in the Landfill, it would take 100 years of recycling efforts at the current pace.

            Given these stats, I was enthused when the City announced it was implementing a mandatory recycling program citywide. My enthusiasm was short lived, as a partnership soon formed between the City and the company First Recycle. I found this partnership particularly disturbing because I saw no reason to privatize a program that City services could manage alone, with potential profits never realized during their partnership with Southern Sanitation. The fact of the matter is the City owns the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and the trucks that collect and deliver the recyclables. The City also pays for the fuel and maintenance of these trucks. Further, City employees collect the recyclable materials and City revenues pay the $1.25 per-ton fee the City must pay to the TCEQ for all rejected materials that must be landfilled.

            The commitment City Management has made to this endeavor and their partnership with First Recycle is one which is not to be taken lightly. The City has invested $8 million of a $12 million bond acquired for this purpose. The City has invested $2 million dollars in purchasing blue bins and an additional $6 million in modernizing the MRF with updated equipment. What has First Recycle invested in this program? Not one dollar! Of course this is such a sweetheart deal that First Recycle has recently extended their  current 3 year contract with the City to a five year contract .Why do City Management and our elected Council members insist on supplying all the necessities of running a successful enterprise yet insist on allowing a private business to profit? The answer—special interests.

            It is regrettable that a program with so much potential has been reduced to nothing more than a Trojan horse. The program appears excellent, but it actually hides a deep, exploitable flaw. In its current form, the recycling program is now nothing more than taxpayer subsidization of private business. Can council members really defend this decision?