The Transportation and Public Works Committee will review the staff
recommendation for the city's recycling processing contract tomorrow,
Tuesday, February 3rd, at 9:30 a.m.
Dear Council Member Zimmermann,
We are writing in reply to Public Works Department's latest recommendation to negotiate with Waste Management Inc (WMI) Recycle America Alliance (RAA) for the city's recycling processing services (issued on Friday). We are unsure why staff continues to recommend WMI since our proposal resulted in the highest net revenue over the five years reviewed and we met all of the other requirements.
While it is good news for recycling and the city of Minneapolis that
staff recently concurred with our opinion that WMI's "fixed rate"
proposal is not good for Minneapolis, they continue to recommend
negotiation with WMI/RAA first and then with us only in the event that
they cannot reach an agreement. Eureka Recycling offers more revenue
than WMI's "fixed rate" or "base rate" proposal and Eureka Recycling
offers four times more floor protection than WMI's "base rate" proposal.
So what are the concerns with selecting Eureka Recycling?
I don't know who the members of the Transportation and Public Works Committee are, and even if I did, I doubt I would be able to reach them between now and 9:30am without resorting to hand-carried letters. And that's a shame, because I'd make it clear that:
* No good reason exists for choosing WMI/RAA over Eureka. On the other hand, lots of good reasons exist for choosing Eureka.
* WMI is the single most fined company for breaking environmental laws. They have been convicted in federal court of price fixing. They have been accused of threatening public officials with death in Louisiana. The list of illegal and anti-social behavior goes on and on, page after page, year after year, location after location. This would be the last company any sane person would want to do business with.
* I have not seen any citizens clamoring for WMI to be the contractor. I have seen citizens calling for Eureka to be the contractor. Who are you elected to represent?
* Given WMI's reputation and the lack of any compelling or good reason for selecting WMI, choosing WMI/RAA over Eureka would be strong evidence of bribery, extortion or other illegal forms of persuaion were involved. If you are a city council member and you're reading this, that means I will believe you to be guilty until proven innocent if you vote for WMI. The taint is just too great to ignore.
Do the right thing. Vote against WMI.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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