Quote of the Day - Burt Aaronson

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The experience of the company's management team, not the track record of the company, should count.

~Burt Aaronson, Palm Beach County Commissioner


Southern Waste Systems (Sun Recycling) is back in the news today.

The Palm Beach County Commission agreed to ease its rules on who can compete for its garbage business. It used to be that you had to have experience hauling residential garbage with at least 30,000 curb side customers. Palm Beach Commissioners instructed staff to re-write the restrictions so that Sun Recycling can bid.

Lake Worth has had its experience with Sun. They dumped all sorts of crap on our landfill and left the 66 acres unusable. If you recall, Sun dumped over 6,000 truckloads of construction material on our landfill, some of which is 3.6 or 3.8 inches thick, hauling in material from south Florida construction sites, giving that commission (one of the WCE) a song and dance abiout using it for a disaster staging site. Our reclamation of the land was again, dead. This was in a lawsuit but I don't see it any longer on the list. Perhaps it was settled or dropped and we weren't informed. This is what I  hate about our lawsuits--the public never knows what's happening.

They also gave campaign contributions here in Lake Worth. You remember the Retha Lowe incident that got her in all sorts of trouble with Tallahassee. Retha lived in our landfill district.  Because they wanted to do more business in Lake Worth, Sun companies contributed the same amount in the general election as they did in the primary to Tom Ramiccio...$2,500. A few years back,  Sun companies gave $2,500 to Lisa Maxwell, now Chair of the Electric Utility Advisory Board as well as $1,400 to Shanon Materio's  BacPac that was supporting certain candidates. Materio, as you know, is now commissioner in West Palm Beach.

Our commission voted not to renew any contract with Sun Recycling (the BCE) and we would use our own rolloff containers.  Palm Beach County made a decision on May 18, 2010 to extend Sun's permit.

Burt Aaronson is finally term limited but Southern Waste Systems is moving right along.