Three companies , out of an early field of 11 local and national firms, have submitted competitive bids to take over operating the Boulder County Recycling Center, including the nonprofit incumbent Eco-Cycle.
The county announced earlier this year that it wanted, for the first time in 17 years, to seek competitive bids to operate the center, which processes most of the paper, plastic, cardboard, aluminum and glass generated across the county.
The nonprofit Eco-Cycle has acted as operator since 2000 under a no-bid contract. But like other recyclers nationwide, it has struggled during the past five years to keep its finances consistent, as revenues from the sale of recycled materials have dropped. Under Eco-Cycle’s current contract, the county picks up the tab when costs exceed revenues. For more than five years, the county has had to dip into other funds to cover capital costs and other expenses, a practice that has sapped roughly $5.4 million from county coffers, according to Jana Petersen, director of administrative services for the county.
“We can’t keep doing that forever,” Petersen said.
As a result, the county decided to change directions, seek competitive bids, and potentially, a new operator.
Instead of a cost-plus contract, the county is seeking a fixed-price contract, meaning that whichever entity wins the deal will be paid a set amount annually and will be responsible for its own profitability.
In addition to Eco-Cycle the county received a bid from Charlotte, NC-based ReCommunity, which operates 27 material recycling facilities, or MRFs, nationwide.
ReCommunity General Counsel Mike Brennon said the county’s plans for the center include performance and financial goals that are demanding and could be tough to meet, but he said his company was interested in trying to reach a deal.
“We haven’t seen a proposal this ambitious in a long time,” Brennon said. “We’re interested, but the terms and conditions are fairly onerous.”
ReCommunity is also embroiled in a very public federal lawsuit with the city of Ann Arbor, Mich. Ann Arbor terminated ReCommunity’s contract last year over what it said were safety concerns including fires at its facilities. ReCommunity, which said fires are common at such facilities, sued Ann Arbor for wrongful termination and the city has since filed a counter-suit, according to Ann Arbor City Administrator Howard Lazarus.
ReCommunity’s Brennen said it is the first time ReCommunity has ever had a municipal contract terminated. He said the city wanted out of the contract because it couldn’t earn as much money as it once did due to plummeting prices on recycled materials, something Lazarus denied.
How ReCommunity’s legal battles will affect its effort to win the Boulder bid isn’t clear.
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