Here are the firms vying to pick up Jackson’s trash - WLBT
Here are the firms vying to pick up Jackson’s trash
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Two companies are vying to pick up Jackson’s trash.
Richard’s Disposal and National Collection Systems LLC submitted responses to the city’s November 2023 request for proposals for residential waste collections.
The proposals were announced at a bid opening on Monday.
“We look forward to seeing this RFP process move forward so that we can ensure quality garbage pickup at a reasonable rate for our residents,” Director of Communications Melissa Faith Payne said.
Richard’s currently picks up trash in the capital city, as part of a one-year emergency agreement.
The company is based in New Orleans and is owned by Alvin Richard.
National Collection Systems is headquartered in Jackson and is managed by Lee Bush and Melonie Henry, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.
Bush also was part of National Waste United, a company Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba brought on to pick up trash under an emergency order in 2021.
That contract was nullified after the council rescinded that state of emergency. National Waste was dissolved in 2022.
Two companies not participating in the latest RFP include Waste Management and FCC Environmental Services.
Waste Management provided solid waste collections for the city for years, but the contract expired in 2021. The company continued collections under a temporary emergency agreement the following spring.
As for FCC, the council denied awarding a contract to the firm in 2021, citing the contract’s cost, and the fact that the company would only offer once-a-week collections.
Jackson issued its latest RFP in November, weeks after the council ordered the mayor to do so.
Council members have criticized several provisions of the document, including one mandating companies to provide customers with trash carts.
The provision states that companies would require one cart for each of the city’s 45,000 or so residential customers, and would have to replace any lost or damaged cart free of charge, except in cases where residents knowingly removed or damaged them.
Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley said the requirement would likely increase the overall cost of the contract and create logistical problems for contractors.
“People didn’t ask for garbage carts,” he said. “They want to be able to tie up that little white bag [and] put it on the corner... the way they’ve been doing it for decades.”
“The reason you put carts in there is because you want to target who you want to bid on it.”
Ward One Councilman Ashby Foote is concerned with another provision - one makes any contract awarded under the agreement subject to an ongoing suit with Richard’s.
Jackson is currently embroiled in two lawsuits with the New Orleans-based service provider. The company filed its first appeal earlier this year after the council denied awarding the company a long-term hauling contract.
In that suit, Richard’s is asking the Hinds County Circuit Court to overturn the council’s decision, award the contract, and pay for any damages and legal fees associated with the case.
The RFP states that Jackson is forced to end the new contract as a result of that suit, the winning firm would not sue and help the city transition back to Richard’s.
“It may eliminate some people who want to bid on the business, it may increase the prices they bid because of that uncertainty,” Foote said. “I think it’s a provision that makes the thing more expensive.”
Richard’s filed a second appeal against the city in November. In that case, the firm is asking the court to block Jackson from moving forward with the RFP process.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.
Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”