You would think that overcharging SF residents by $95 million would lead to Recology losing its monopoly on local trash collection. It has not, and now it appears Recology will keep that monopoly after a competitor dropped their bid.
Recology has been the trash collector in San Francisco for more than 100 years, albeit under different names or organizations like Scavenger’s Protective Association, Golden Gate Disposal, Sunset Scavenger Company, and Norcal Waste Systems. A 1987 merger (and a 2009 rebrand) created the local trash-collection monopoly we now call Recology. But you figured Recology’s monopoly would not survive being ensnared in the Mohammed Nuru scandal, in which it was found that Recology overcharged SF residents by $95 million.
And so Recology’s long-held monopoly contract was put up for a competitive bid. The Arizona-based company Allied Waste Services put in a bid was named the “top scorer,” and was brought to the SF Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee for consideration on February 28. Recology, naturally, brought up all manner of concerns like union representation and the number of trucks being their competitor might use.
But one of Recology’s concerns appeared to be legit. The Examiner reports that Allied Waste Services dropped their bid, amidst allegations that they intended to raise rates higher than what their bid indicated. And Allied Waste's statement to the Examiner indicates that may have been the case.
“With the city’s advisement that no changes to the rates can be accepted, yes, we confirm that we are withdrawing our proposal,” Allied Waste’s parent company Republic Services’s regional general manager Kathryn Tekulve said in a statement to the Examiner.
The SF City Administrator 's Office was not pleased with this result. "We are deeply disappointed by this outcome,” that office told the Examiner. “Significant staff resources were spent getting to this stage in the process with Allied so that we could present a contract to the Board of Supervisors for approval."
This may indeed be frustrating. But reading between the lines, one sure wonders if Allied Waste truly intended to stick with the rates they’d submitted. And of course, Recology is popping the champagne bottles.
“We applaud City leadership for taking the time to give this contract careful consideration,” a company representative said in a statement to the Examiner. “Recology’s proposal is better for the environment and will keep unionized jobs in the City, both of which align with San Francisco’s values.”
Recology is certainly tarnished by the Mohammed Nuru scandal. But they are not as despised as, say, PG&E. And now it may be in the can that they'll keep their monopoly on local trash collection.
Image: Recology via Facebook
