Houston recycling contract emails prove EcoHub was trashed
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New e-mails obtained by Dolcefino Consulting prove Mayor Sylvester Turner tried to keep the company EcoHub from being able to compete for a new Houston recycling contract. That move may now be keeping Houstonians from saving tens of millions of dollars.
The company filed a protest when Turner issued a new bid for recycling last year, but the Mayor has insisted they were welcome to compete for the lucrative contract instead. Now we know Turner fought to write the bid to intentionally keep them out.
The City of Houston is fighting release of e-mails written in 2016 on recycling, but a handful of documents released late last week expose the real truth.
In April 2016, City of Houston Procurement Officers were trying to make sure the new recycling bid included language that would allow One Bin type companies to complete. The City of Houston was in the final negotiations with ECOHUB when Turner took office, but instead of finishing the recommended deal that could save taxpayers millions, Turner sought a new bidding.
Amidst attempts to add the language, Solid Waste Director Harry Hayes told bid writers that he had elevated the issue to the Mayor and that Turner had declared “One Bin” dead.
“These e-mails are smoking guns, so imagine what are in the documents the City of Houston is fighting so hard to keep secret,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “The Mayor owes taxpayers the full truth. We shouldn’t have to go to court to get him to be honest about this deal, especially when we have a City in deep financial trouble.”
The scandal over ECOHUB has become especially important because the company has offered to share profits with Houston taxpayers, and promised savings of up to 40 million dollars a year.
“That is enough money to give Houston firefighters the huge raise they deserve,” says Dolcefino. “Houston City Council decides contracts. They should order a bid rigging investigation and if wrongdoing is found, they should move forward to finish the contract negotiations with ECOHUB.”
The documents are available below. Wayne is available for comments to the media concerning this Houston recycling story.
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