BROOMFIELD — After a sometimes tense marriage, Eco-Cycle and the city and county of Broomfield have split.
The City Council last week decided to let the city’s Public Works Department take over management of the recycling center — a job Boulder-based Eco-Cycle began 11 years ago. The city also will contract with Western Disposal to haul recycled material to the center, at 225 Commerce St.
The decision comes after two years of haggling between the nonprofit and the city over the management of the center. The city opened bidding for the handling of its recycling last summer but found the three bids were well over its $81,588 budget.
City staffers then offered a fourth option of taking over the center with the help of volunteers and putting Western Disposal in charge of hauling recyclables. The total cost came in at $77,120.
Broomfield Mayor Patrick Quinn said Eco-Cycle might still play a critical role in the city. A committee looking at recycling in Broomfield will issue its findings early next year.
“I’d like to think we are looking at the big picture here and we haven’t eliminated Eco-Cycle entirely,” Quinn said. “I think our decision was an interim measure.”
Quinn, who is serving a two-year term as mayor, said he knows there have been hard feelings between the city and Eco-Cycle for some time. “However, it hasn’t been experienced by me.”
But during last week’s council meeting, City Manager George Di Ciero was highly critical of Eco-Cycle’s performance, pointing out that the nonprofit had not staffed the recycling center for several months.
Steve Kaverman, a former Broomfield city councilman and member of Eco-Cycle’s board, said those management issues have been worked out and that Eco-Cycle grew frustrated with delays over its contract with the city.
Kaverman said, for whatever reason, the city wanted Eco-Cycle out of Broomfield.
“This is just the opposite of what’s going on in other communities in Boulder County,” he said.
Cities, including Louisville and Lafayette, have eliminated their recycling centers because curbside recycling participation is so high.
“Broomfield prides itself on being a pacesetter, but in this area there has not been a lot of leadership,” Kaverman said.
The city will take over the center in October.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
