City in New York settles lawsuit with recycler

The elected board of the town of Brookhaven in New York has approved settling a lawsuit it filed against Green Stream Recycling, formerly known as Hudson Baylor Brookhaven LLC (HBB), over the cancellation of a long-term recycling contract with the city.

The suit stems from a notice made by Green Stream in 2018 calling for relief from its long-term recyclables collection and processing contract with the town of Brookhaven. After struggling with challenging markets for recyclables, Green Stream indefinitely suspended operations at its material recovery facility (MRF).

According to the town of Brookhaven, one week after the company shuttered its MRF, Brookhaven filed an action against the companies, alleging, among other things, breach of the operations and maintenance agreement.

The agreement, approved at a town board meeting on Feb. 28, has the recycling firm agreeing to pay Brookhaven $1.42 million over the next four years. Further, the settlement includes Green Stream agreeing to refurbish equipment at the MRF the town now operates.

The settlement also includes a provision requiring Green Stream, or any company that acquires its assets, to keep in place the town’s dual-stream system, which the Brookhaven board has decided will replace the former single-stream system. The settlement also allows the town to purchase equipment in the future under certain circumstances, for instance, if Brookhaven decides to buy out the Green Stream contract.