FCC Environmental wins Texas collection contract

FCC Environmental Services was awarded a $33 million recycling collection contract in Rowlett, Texas, after Waste Management (WM), Houston, tried to raise rates by 84 percent during its renewal process, a report by CBS11 says. FCC Environmental, the U.S. subsidiary of the Madrid-based global environmental services company FCC, will take over the contract Oct. 1, 2017.

Before the vote, a WM area manager posted a letter online calling FCC Environmental a “European conglomerate that has virtually no collection experience or operations in the U.S.,” the report says. The manager also said the city may experience a disruption of service due to FCC Environmental’s “lack of experience, infrastructure and equipment.”

Mayor Todd Gottel called the letter “unprofessional” and pointed to FCC’s new 12-acre recycling facility in Dallas, according to the report. He posted his own letter explaining the decision to switch service providers. WM has provided collection services to Rowlett for five years.

While the mayor says there will be no disruption of service, all bids came in higher than the city’s current rate and residents will experience a cost increase.