Waste Company Plays Environment Card In New Radio Ads
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The upstart company fighting for a piece of the county’s multi-millon dollar waste disposal business is trying a new tactic to win business — radio ads proclaiming they are better for the environment.
A Sun-Bergeron spokesman said the company made “a substantial radio buy” and that the ads begin this week.
Message ads are a unique move in Broward, but they are often used in Tallahassee and Washington to sway legislative bodies. Here it is being used to convince city commissioners to pick Sun-Bergeron to dispose of waste.
The ads asks residents “to call the city commission and tell them to work with Sun-Bergeron” for environmental reasons.
Sun-Bergeron promises to meet state recycling goals of recycling 75 percent of waste by 2020.
Their huge competitor Wheelabrator Technologies, who has had a near-monopoly on Broward’s waste since the late 1980s, makes no such promise to cities.
There might be a reason for Wheelabrator’s avoidance of recycling talk: Under the expiring Wheelabrator deal, only 24 percent of Broward’s waste was recycled in 2011…far less than the 75 percent goal.
Wheeabrator has been burning much of its waste in its two huge Broward incinerators or burying it in its North Broward landfill .
The timing of Sun-Bergeron’s ads is vital. Eight cities, including some of the biggest in Broward, still haven’t decided how they will replace the existing Wheelabrator contract, which ends July 2.
Cities have a choice of continuing with Wheelabrator or picking Sun-Bergeron. At stake are tens of millions of dollars annually in fees.
Undecided cities include Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lauderhill, Oakland Park, Pembroke Park, Southwest Ranches and Sunrise., according to a county document released this morning.
Sun-Bergeron is a joint venture of Sun Recycling of Palm Beach County and Broward entrepreneur Ron Bergeron.
Here is the ad:
May 7th, 2013 at 8:51 pm
Break up the monopoly and create competition.
May 7th, 2013 at 10:57 pm
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
May 12th, 2013 at 8:21 am
Investigative reporting by the Tampa Bay Times today eviscerates Florida’s laws favoring the construction of nuclear power plants…
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/analysis-levy-nuclear-plant-twice-the-cost-of-a-natural-gas-facility/2120372
Natural gas would be cheaper. Cheaper by billions of dollars. Cheaper even over 60 years and under any likely scenario.
May 21st, 2013 at 11:53 am
I would question that they can recycle as much as they say…
May 21st, 2013 at 9:08 pm
mailers from truthaboutwm.com (p o box 15755 ft ldle 33318) are being sent to fort lauderdale residents asking to contact city council (its a commission not a council)
city of fort ldle will do what makes them money, not save money for their residents