No council input on awarding of recycling contract

City administrators had authority to hire Emterra Environmental

Two downtown business owners who say they’re concerned about delayed blue box pickup from a new contractor are wondering why the city hired a firm without council input — even though city staff was authorized to award the contract.

Emterra Environmental is the firm and it has a track record of late garbage pickups and complaints in Niagara Region.

Jean Grant, the owner of the Toy Shop on Hunter Street, questioned why the city hired Emterra; the firm has left piles of recycling in front of her store from area businesses since its contract went into effect Nov. 1.

The city has explained some of those delays in press releases: there have been mechanical issues with trucks, for instance, and the city ordered Emterra to inspect each blue box and not accept those that are improperly sorted (which occasioned delays).

The city has also stated in a release that all issues should be resolved by Nov. 25, but Grant wasn’t convinced — and she blamed councillors.

“City council should have asked more questions rather than rubber stamping it (the hiring),” she said.

Another business owner, Ken Fraser of the Main Ingredient bulk food store on Charlotte Street, said blue boxes left at the curb will prompt people to put their recyclables in the trash bins.

He said city hall failed to do research before hiring a firm that has proven to deliver late service elsewhere.

“Who made the decision to hire these guys?” he asked.

The decision was made by city staff in February and council never had a debate about it.

James Istchenko, the city’s manager of environmental services, later told The Examiner in an interview that the hiring didn’t need city council approval because the contract was within council’s approved budget.

Previously, the city and county both used the same two firms for recycling; Waste Connections for pickup and HGC Management for processing.

After those contracts expired, the city and county put out a joint request for proposals and Emterra scored highest on

criteria such as experience and cost.

The seven-year contract is worth about $28.4 million, states a city staff report — although Emterra will be selling collected recyclables and will be expected to bring in revenues of roughly $10.5 million.

While county council approved the hiring at a meeting, city council did not: city staff

was authorized to do so.

Coun. Dean Pappas, the downtown ward councillor and the city’s finance chair, thinks city council was right not to debate it: he said staff should award contracts so no one can ever accuse councillors of potential financial gain.

Still, Pappas called Emterra’s service “unacceptable” so far and at a council meeting Nov. 25 he will ask for staff to explain in writing how the city came to experience delays.

“I expect better from them

(Emterra),” Pappas said. “We’re paying them to do a job — I expect them to do it.”

Meanwhile, Emterra won’t be doing pickup in Niagara Region by the end of 2020: other firms will take over by next fall, the St. Catharines Standard reported.

Emterra did garbage pickup in Niagara for seven years and recently citizens complained about the service.

The Standard reported that by October, Emterra had completed its entire scheduled trash pickup in Niagara less than half of the time this year.

But Janice Rendflesh, a spokesperson for Emterra, wrote in an email to The Examiner that the firm wasn’t dropped by Niagara Region: it chose not to bid on the contract for 2020.

She also wrote that Niagara Region extended Emterra’s contract when it had the choice to go to tender and that Emtera is proud of the service it offers there.