Waste Management in Columbus Co. could be a conflict of interest | People

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Commissioners in Columbus
County plan to start negotiating with waste companies even though their current
contract doesn't expire for another year.

Commissioners want to get started early because they think
negotiations will be a long process, and they will likely take bids from other
companies.

Commissioner Edwin Russ would like to see what their current
contractor, Waste Management, is offering before reaching out to other
companies. 

He believes it would be easier to negotiate with the company
already in use, but some say using that company is a conflict of interest.  Russ owns a tire and muffler shop that
operates on Waste Management vehicles. 
He says this has been going on for 15-years, long before he was a
commissioner.

Russ' daughter owns Go Green Recycling Center in Whiteville,
where workers for Waste Management dump recyclables they collect in the county.  He said Go Green is the only recycling center
in the county that packages the recyclables.

Someone from Waste Management will be at the next
commissioners meeting.

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