In August the San Juan County Council asked county staff to negotiate two contracts, one with Orcas Recycling Services and one with Cimarron Trucking, to satisfy the requirements of their recent request for proposal for the Orcas Solid Waste Transfer Station. County staff members recently met privately and jointly with ORS and Cimarron in negotiations closed to the press and public. After two meetings with ORS present, these negotiations concluded on Sept. 6.

Orcas Recycling Services proposed a split of the revenue-generating aspects of the transfer station: ORS to operate the tipping floor and scales, and Cimarron to continue to provide trucking and disposal services as they have in the past.

Both county staff and Cimarron proposed, instead, that Cimarron Trucking be contracted for all major revenue-generating aspects of the transfer station, including the tipping floor, and that ORS provide reuse and recycling services.

On Sept. 7, county staff submitted a draft ORS Contract Staff Report to its council, stating “No agreement regarding the appropriate division of services between the vendors was reached” and recommending that Cimarron Trucking be granted the contract for the tipping floor at the Orcas Transfer Station.

A statement by the Orcas Recycling Services board of directors on Sept. 8:

“The problem is that what they propose is not a viable business model for ORS. Our model is designed to reduce the amount of solid waste shipped off island in the longterm, and serve our county’s adopted goals. Without the revenue generated by garbage, recycling (generally) loses money, although it may pay for itself over time, given funding to explore and build a variety of up-cycling revenue streams. This is why it is critical for ORS to operate the Orcas Transfer Station and use tipping fees to support reuse, recycle and up-cycle revenue stream development.

The ORS not-for-profit business model for the transfer station specifies local jobs and services, lower rates for citizens, profits re-invested into the community, education programs, and innovative processing systems chosen for their efficiency.

If Cimarron is granted the contract for the tipping floor, tipping fee revenues (as much as $1.5 million per year) will leave San Juan County, and our rights to self-determination will be lost.”

As our Executive Director Mark DeTray says : “If garbage and recyclables are separated into two operations, the overall cost to the end user is significantly higher due to the need to pay for two managing bodies. Tip fees would need to be set higher for recyclables, undermining any economic incentive to recycle. Our concern is that the public receive as many quality options and absorb as few costs as possible in future Orcas transfer station operations. We invite further discussion to examine all scenarios, including shared operations, which would both “pencil out” for ORS and be of service to the county and its citizens whose goals we share: reduce, reuse, recycle.”

To lend your support, contact all council members with your comments today.

For relevant facts and current information from the ORS Update and Call to Action, visit  http://exchangeorcas.wordpress.com/ and follow The Exchange on Facebook. Thank you.

Board of Directors

Orcas Recycling Services