COVER- Tipping Point: Is Van der Linde laying waste to Waste Authority?
By DAVE MCNAIR | dave@readthehook.com
Published online 8:00am Thursday Dec 3rd, 2009
and in print issue #0848 dated Thursday Dec 3rd, 2009
Last week, trash hauler and recycling entrepreneur Peter Van der Linde may have quietly destroyed the hold that his nemesis, the government-run Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, has had on area trash for nearly 20 years.
In the past, Authority director Tom Frederick, when responding to the drop in Authority revenues caused by the opening of Van der Linde's MRF, Materials Recovery Facility, has always defended the Authority's viability by pointing out that the RSWA-sponsored transfer stations accepted household trash, while Van der Linde's facility did not.
"Good questions," says County Supe Ken Boyd, who sits on the RSWA Board, "and why I am interested in what private sector solutions are out there. I think the public benefits by spirited competition in a free enterprise environment." ^^^
But wouldn't real competition involve not a transfer station but another MRF? At press time, Boyd had yet to respond to the follow-up question.
Authority director Frederick, presented with the same questions, provided a similar response to Boyd's.
"Now that the RFP has been approved, I believe it best to let the private marketplace determine the outcome," says Frederick, "instead of speculating in advance."
Trash hauler McCauley says he no longer
has any reason to use RSWA transfer stations, or even the Greene County landfill, now that Van der Linde accepts everything for a lower price.
Meanwhile, our elected officials have continued to commit taxpayer money to a government-run Waste Authority that is operating steadily deeper into the red and has yet to come up with a long-term plan for continuing to offer waste disposal and recycling services. In addition, elected officials have continued to voice support the RSWA's lawsuit against Van der Linde, in which they allege that he conspired to bilk the Authority out of more than $1 million in tipping fees before he opened his facility. The lawsuit has already cost the money-losing Authority $340,000 in legal fees with the trial date still at least six months away.
What's more, if the City of Charlottesville collects your trash and recycling, none of it will be making its way to Van der Lind's facility. That's because the city recently signed a five-year contract with Waste Management to collect household waste, which, under an agreement with the RSWA, must be taken to RSWA-sponsored stations. As for city curbside recycling, that's collected by Allied Waste/Republic Services, which isn't about to divert waste away from its Zion Crossroads transfer station.
Intersting article. About owner of Time Disposal. ^^^