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With three commissioners believers, Republic likely to win trash fight

I've been doing a lot of trash talking in anticipation of next Tuesday's guaranteed-to-be-contentious Clark County Commission meeting.

For weeks, I've been asking people how they feel about Republic Services' desire to change services from twice-a-week trash pickup and once-every-other-week recycling pickup to once-a-week, same-day pickup of trash and recycling.

Those who haven't taken part in the pilot program of single-stream recycling seem firmly set against the idea. The smell of trash in Las Vegas' boiling summertime seems to be a major concern.

Another worry is whether people have room to store the wheeled carts in their garages as some homeowners associations require. An effort will be made to change state law so that HOAs that require trash and recycling bins to be stored inside a garage will be overruled by state law.

Bulky items can be put on the curb every other week to be picked up. That will be a reduction in service because now bulky items can be put out on any trash day.

Those who already are testing the pilot program like it. And three people I spoke with Tuesday said, yes, they are doing more recycling as a result of the program.

They aren't random people; they are three of the folks who will be making the decision for the county - Commissioners Tom Collins, Susan Brager and Mary Beth Scow. Commissioner Lawrence Weekly didn't return a call asking whether he had changed his ways.

Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak is pushing the change and thinks there are enough votes to pass it, even over objections of the most vocal opponent, Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.

Sisolak's own HOA requires that people rent rolling cans, and because Republic will be providing the plastic carts, he says a lot of his constituents will see their costs reduced.

"There's a real problem on recycle day, somehow it's always a windy day," he said. Newspapers blow out of the three open bins now used.

Giunchigliani has said she thinks that residents are getting reduced service and that any financial savings should go back to residents instead of increasing Republic's profits.

The supposed goal of the program is to encourage recycling, and for the three commissioners I spoke with Tuesday, it does. Collins admitted: "It took awhile to get used to it. I've learned to recycle but had to learn which container to put it in."

Collins, Scow and Brager all said they are concerned that Teamsters union jobs will be eliminated. Republic will need fewer drivers, perhaps 60 to 80 fewer, Collins said. But Republic is saying that there will not be layoffs, but that the jobs will be vacated through attrition.

"I'm uncommitted, but personally I like it very much," Scow said. And yes, she is recycling more.

Brager admitted that at first she didn't want to go to the new system. "I was one of those resisters, believing once a week would not work."

Now she's a believer, but like Scow and Collins, she says she isn't committed to vote in favor of Republic.

How about those smells? Scow and Brager are both grandmothers who deal with odorous materials - baby diapers. They put the diapers inside plastic bags and say the smells are not horrendous.

Bob Coyle, vice president of government affairs at Republic, is expected to be grilled by Giunchigliani.

Giunchigliani has found at least one ally - Las Vegas attorney Todd Bice, who suspects Republic is fudging the recycling numbers.

Looks likely to me that Republic will win this fight. Let's put it this way: I've been looking at my garage wondering whether I'm the kind of woman who needs a 35-, 65- or 95-gallon cart.

Just how trashy am I?

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at 702-383-0275. She blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.

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