Council's hearing on the city's trash and recycling contracts, including the Chester incinerator, is Nov. 18
Bill 260794 would let the city sign disposal deals with Waste Management, Republic Services and Reworld. Jamie Gauthier, a sponsor, has said she plans to try to amend Reworld out.
Where Philadelphia's trash goes after the truck picks it up is headed for a public hearing. Council's Committee on the Environment has scheduled the city's trash disposal and recycling contract bills for 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to the posted agenda for that meeting. When we last reported on the bills in October, the committee hadn't posted an agenda.
The stakes are city costs and air quality. About a third of the city's trash is burned at the Reworld facility in Chester, and the rest goes to landfills, the Inquirer reported.
The two bills
- Bill 260794 authorizes the sanitation and procurement commissioners to sign agreements for the collection, transfer and disposal of municipal solid waste. Its preamble names the vendors chosen through the city's request for proposals: Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Republic Services of Pennsylvania and ReWorld Sustainable Solutions.
- Bill 260793 authorizes agreements with several vendors to process and market the city's recyclables.
In July, the administration announced plans for new four-year contracts with the three disposal companies, WHYY reported.
The fight over incineration
Our record lists Council President Kenyatta Johnson and 3rd District Councilmember Jamie Gauthier as the sponsors of both bills. Gauthier has spent more than a year trying to end the city's use of incineration. The Inquirer reported that she signed on to the disposal bill despite opposing the Reworld piece, to have a role in committee, and that she plans to propose an amendment removing Reworld so all of the city's trash would go to landfills. She said it gives her coalition "an opportunity to be at the table."
Her earlier bill, which would have barred city contractors from incinerating waste, didn't win enough support after the administration opposed it, and she never called it for a final vote, the Inquirer reported in September. The administration argued the ban would limit competitive bidding, WHYY reported.
What our records add
- 48 days from introduction to hearing. Both bills were introduced at the Oct. 1 session and sat for three weeks before the Council president referred them to the Environment Committee on Oct. 22.
- Only two items. The disposal and recycling bills are the only items on the committee's Nov. 18 agenda.
- A related bill isn't on it. 1st District Councilmember Mark Squilla introduced a separate bill Sept. 17 that would require a plan to sharply cut the city's reliance on both incinerators and landfills over 20 years, including composting and anaerobic digestion, the Inquirer reported. It isn't scheduled for Nov. 18.
- An amendment would show up in the record. If the committee amends Bill 260794, the bill's number would carry an "-A" suffix, as amended bills do in our records (for example, Bill 240010-A).
What happens after the hearing
If the committee approves the bills, they would get a first reading at a stated meeting and become eligible for a final vote at the following one. Council's next stated meeting after the hearing is Nov. 19 (meeting), followed by Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
The hearing is in Room 400 of City Hall. Committee hearings usually include public testimony; the city's legislative calendar has the final schedule.