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Recology: Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow (continued from page 8)
How did they achieve such high marks? With dollars tight, it is always
difficult when the cost of anything goes up. We already get pinched at the
supermarket and the gas pump, so nobody enjoys seeing another bill go up.
All three executives truly believe the high rating is due to superior service.
“We’ve got great men and women working for us. They get it. We’ve got a
great team of managers and supervisors and we follow through,” Puccinelli
added. Customer service is clearly a priority. “At the end of the day, people
really like our services and the convenience of the service,” he said.
That kind of success is never an accident. It stems from a very positive corporate
culture, 100 percent employee-owned. Puccinelli explained, “Our employees
have a stake in our success.” They really are a part of the community.
“We like to feel like we’re a part of that community too,” Gasparini said.
And as part of that community, Recology gets involved — not just by picking
up waste and promoting recycling, but also in community projects. CEO Mike
Sangiacomo created a Recology volunteer program in 2008, which tackles projects
in areas serviced. Things like a community garden, landscaping or repainting
a school. Employees from all over the state step in as part of a volunteer project.
“We’ve got great men and women
working for us. They get it. We’ve
got a great team of managers and
supervisors and we follow through.”
“It’s a wonderful program,” Del Bene said. “Drivers, CSRs and managers
all coming together to refurbish a Boys & Girls Club [for example].” And
on such efforts, it’s not unusual to get well over 100 Recology volunteers —
reflecting a corporate culture that cares and is involved in the community.
That goes a long way toward explaining such high customer satisfaction
marks, even in the face of increased rates. But it still leaves the question:
Why the rate hikes in the first place? That alone could be a full article — in
fact, Gasparini wrote just such an article for the Daily Journal last year — but
a few key points can be summarized. One misconception is that Recology is
the driving force behind the rate increases, when in fact they’re merely the messenger.
A large portion is “container migration.” It costs Recology the same
amount to pick up a small container as a larger one, and as more people
recycle, trash volume goes down while pickup costs remain the same. It’s
similar to your water bill, when you conserve water and then the rates
increase — a counterintuitive process that seems to punish good behavior
with higher charges.
But that doesn’t take into account the cost/benefit ratio between the shortterm
and long-term. It’s like having a canteen in the desert. When you ration
your water, the short-term cost is that you’re thirsty. But the long-term cost
for not rationing your water is you run out and you die.
“There are various factors that dictate whether a city will have a rate increase on
a year-to-year basis, one of them being the factor of cart migration,” Puccinelli
explained. Because the recycling programs are doing so well, trash volume is
down while expenses don’t always stay flat. There are labor costs, price costs
discounted for smaller carts and the ultimate truth: There is a cost to recycling.
Del Bene said, “We send the bill. But included in that bill is also the
processing. We’re only the collector.” But because the bill comes from
Recology, people associate the increase with them. The JPA and South Bay
Recycling are a component as well.
“Last year in Burlingame, there was a pretty significant rate increase.
Recology’s portion of the rate increase was zero. Our costs had no impact,”
Puccinelli said. “Unlike the gas company, we’re unable to recoup our costs if
we have a truck run into the bay. That’s on us. The risk is all ours.” Unlike,
say, a refinery fire, the costs of which are passed along to consumers.
So while Recology doesn’t drive up the costs themselves, there are other
components that can. “For instance, we don’t own the landfill. If the landfill
rates were to go up, the costs would be passed back down to the consumer.
Recycling commodities prices — they fluctuate,” Gasparini pointed out.
And if those prices go up, Recology sees none of the benefit. “We do not get
the revenue from the collection of the recycled materials.” Recology is paid
simply to pick it up and drop it off.
The goal has been to shift more waste from trash to recycling and
composting. And the shift has worked. A 32-gallon can was considered
“small” in 1990. Now the smallest is 20 gallons because so much more is
going into the recycling cart. This is a good thing, even if it comes with a
financial cost, because the cost of the alternative is far greater in the long run,
for our children and our planet. A short-term savings at a long-term cost we
cannot afford is really no savings at all.
“Always look to the future,” Del Bene said. “What technology do we need
to invest in, because status quo isn’t going to work.” Instead, the corporate
culture at Recology is to be a part of the solution. But she was quick to
point out they haven’t done it alone. “The residents have stepped up to the
plate,” she added. Just in the past year, there has been a 30 percent increase
in recycling as well as composting. This translates into thousands of tons of
waste no longer going to the Ox Mountain landfill.
The credit, Puccinelli pointed out, goes to the residents, who have made recycling
and composting good habits that help protect the environment for everyone.
Sustainability and foresight. These are important goals that Recology lives
by. And they feel the majority of the population does care, which is why one
of their major focuses remains community education.
“Community is important to us, it really is,” Gasparini concluded.
Fourth of July parade fun! Gino Gasparini helps Santa.
Gasparini at a Recology event with a resident.
The Spectrum 11