By Susan Jarvis
November 9, 2009

Everett Bass, Past President of MWMA and current Vice President of Municipal Services for Waste Management, Inc., facilitated a discussion about successful public-private partnerships. “In the current climate, it’s not public versus private,” began Bass. “We are all brothers and sisters in garbage.”

The first lesson of public-private partnerships, began Tonja Brickhouse, Solid Waste Director for Tampa, is understanding that municipalities can’t shoulder the capitol investment on their own. The McKay Bay Waste to Energy facility generates enough energy to provide electrical power to 15,000 Tampa homes. Tampa’s private sector partner, Wheelbrator, recovers enough metal at this facility to produce 4000 automobiles per year.

“Capital alone for most projects is a huge responsibility for cities. Public-Private Partnerships can help cities afford waste to energy facilities and other long term projects without having to dole out the long term capital,” Brickhouse stated. "The city also benefits from the private sector’s flexibility, access to more advanced technology, safety record and overall 'standards of compatibility.- Our partnership with Wheelbrator has allowed us to leverage their corporate synergy, making our facility more competitive and efficient,” she continued. “Communications is the key to effective public-private partnerships, up and down the chain of command, ” she concluded.

“Public-Private Partnerships begin with listening,” began Seattle Public Utilities Solid Waste Director Tim Croll. In 2008, Seattle generated almost 800,000 tons of MSW, 50 percent of which was recycled. In order to meet the new needs of the residents and businesses, the city extensively re-worked their RFPs, identifying new risk concerns, including labor disruptions and fuel prices, and adding more “carrots” as well as the “sticks” the city already had in place.

The new collection services agreements covers everything from recycling education, customer bill processing and a new fleet fueled with CNG. The “stick” aspect of the contract calls for an assessment of missed collections and repeat misses. By identifying standards of excellence, acceptability, and failure, the partnership has clear and attainable goals.

Louisville (KY) Solid Waste Director Keith Hackett shared his experiences in partnering with the private sector for the cities beautification projects and a landfill and waste reduction center. “We provide the people, they provide the equipment,” said Hackett. “This arrangement allows the city to open the landfill one Sunday a month. We are operating on a belief that we “complete each other, not compete with each other.”

Bass summed up the keys to a successful public-private partnership, stating, “Ongoing dialogue between the parties and completing the project is to everyone’s satisfaction.”