S&S National Waste in West Palm Beach, Fla., has reportedly sued the town of Timberlake Pines, Fla., because the town is enforcing its waste franchise agreement to include construction and demolition (C&D) materials.
The agreement promises that all the municipality’s garbage must go to a specified hauler. S&S contends that C&D materials should not be part of that contract, and that it can haul the material to its yard for recycling.
According to William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), Lisle, Ill., such franchise agreements are common in south Florida. “Waste is all wrapped in exclusive contracts with specific waste haulers, usually either Waste Management or Republic,” says Turley.
While these types of lawsuits do occasionally pop up over C&D debris, members of the Florida Recyclers Coalition, CMRA’s affiliate in the Sunshine State, say that they probably will become more prevalent in the coming months because many towns are beginning to target C&D debris as part of the solid waste stream.
According to Turley, when this tonnage goes to the franchised waste companies, they in turn give the towns a “host fee” per ton. “Most just dump the material in their landfills,” says Turley of the franchise-holding solid waste companies.
But the recyclers say that mixed C&D debris can be recycled at a rate of 80 percent to 90 percent, and that it is not waste and thus should not be a part of the franchise agreements.