Omaha, Neb., Rejects $4M Bid to Process Recyclables

In October, the city of Omaha, Neb., received a bid from Firstar Fiber to process the city’s recycling. The bid was the only one the city received, and it was nearly double the city’s estimated costs at a price tag of $4 million.

Earlier this week, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert rejected the bid, pushing the city’s Public Works Department to now explore other options. In addition, Stothert asked the Public Works Department to bid out the contract again, which could draw more competition for the bid.

The city is working quickly to find a new solution, as its next contract begins in 2021.

Omaha World-Herald has more details:

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert was so stunned by a $4 million bid to process local recycling that she rejected the October bid and sent the Public Works Department back to the drawing board.

Stothert announced Tuesday that she asked the department to explore new options for processing the aluminum cans, cardboard, newspapers and plastic that Omaha residents set at the curb.

That future may or may not include the city’s current recycling processor, Firstar Fiber, the lone bidder to process the city’s recycling that asked for more than double what the city expected to pay.

Stothert and the city’s finance director say the city budget could probably shoulder adding annual recycling fees of up to about $2 million from 2021 to 2026 without a tax increase.

Read the full story here.