Editor:
Since much of the data on the recycling contract (Coast Reporter, Aug. 10) is out of context, the public must be held blameless if they misunderstand the article.
The 18-month contract expense of $297,000, mentioned twice, is not the point. The point is that the contracted monthly price is $16,500, after a temporary contract paid at $11,500 did not come close to covering contractor expenses.
Some perspective is required. This new monthly rate paid to the contractor is still some $6,000 less than that budgeted by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), some seven years ago, for the SCRD-run recycling operation previously located within the IGA mall parking lot.
More perspective: there are two mentions of "operations in Gibsons" and "recycling in Gibsons" but this regional operation is for the entire south Coast. This is for a contracted service to Areas F, E, Gibsons and as much of Roberts Creek who choose to use it, a population approaching 12,000 persons.
By comparison, using the $6,700 per month paid by the SCRD for recycling in Area A (for a population of 2,678) as a multiplier, the south Coast recycling effort could be entitled to as much as $27,500 per month.
Furthermore, this new contract is arbitrarily limited to the tonnage previously handled at that IGA location. Any excess tonnage must be borne by the Gibsons Recycling Depot contractor.
And, to my knowledge, there is no compensation/adjustment for increases in ferry fares and fuel costs, nor for any publicly recorded drop in prices paid for the recyclables during the past 11 months.
The contractor is correct: this is an "at cost" contract, with no wriggle room. And, if public recycling generates momentum, the contractor must bear the costs of success! (?)
Brian K. Sadler, Gibsons
