Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Republic Services treats us like trash

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The Clark County Commission is going to take yet another look at recycling, as the Sun reported last week.

Perhaps it is time for an eye exam. It’s better than even money that our stealthy trash collector, Republic Services, is lobbying our elected officials in Carson City right now.

For quite some time, it has been campaigning for a change to its very long-term contract here in Southern Nevada.

Republic Services has magnanimously offered to reduce the number of scheduled pickups in Clark County from five every two weeks to four every two weeks, a 20 percent reduction in overall service.

In return, we will receive a large recycling container that will ostensibly improve recycling.

If successful, this would improve Republic’s recycling profits and of course significantly lower its cost to service the entire community.

Is that all? I currently pay $164.88 per year for its services. So will my bill be reduced $32.88, an amount equal to the proposed 20 percent reduction in trash pickup services?

Don’t even think about it. This will never happen, not for me and not for you.

It appears that Republic Services feels we all should subsidize its efforts to improve recycling and its profits while also paying for its new and improved single-stream recycling container.

I guess we may need to wait and see how the Carson City lobbying campaign works out this year.

If successful, I suppose one of Republic’s goals, a state law allowing the storage of trash containers in everyone’s front yard, could be achieved. Won’t that be pretty!

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