Standoff on recycling service continues

People should be able to swap their three recycling tubs for a single barrel to simplify the task, and pay nothing extra, a Clark County commissioner said Tuesday.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani asked Republic Services' officials why they couldn't dispense rolling barrels to residents in unincorporated areas to encourage recycling.

The trash hauler should be able to do that and continue twice-a-week garbage pickup without raising rates, she said, noting she had dropped her initial push for weekly recycling service.

She said she would settle for keeping the biweekly recycling pickup and have Republic Services replace the three colored boxes with single containers.

"It would make it easier for people," she said.

But Bob Coyle, the company's vice president of government relations, said supplying barrels to the more than 200,000 households would cost about $10 million. And buying a fleet of trucks with pneumatic arms to scoop up the bins would cost $20 million, he estimated.

Coyle has suggested the county go to once-a-week recycling and trash pickup, similar to most of the 50,000 households in a two-year pilot program.

Both Giunchigliani and Commissioner Susan Brager expressed concerns about people's week-old garbage rotting in the summer heat.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he might be more inclined to recycle with a single container. He said the three tubs put him off.

"I don't recycle," Sisolak said. "My kids do. I guess I'm lazy."

Giunchigliani suggested that the county do an audit of Republic Services' finances to get an idea of how the company spends ratepayers' money.

The audit could also help pin down the true costs of upgrading the recycling service, she said.

Coyle said a consultant did a financial analysis of the company two years ago. Giunchigliani argued that the study wasn't thorough enough.

Coyle then agreed to meet with county staffers and nail down exactly why a particular recycling service costs as much as estimated.