A family-owned waste company in Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against Republic Services, Phoenix, claiming that Republic is actively attempting to push it out of business, a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal says. Simple Environmental Services Group (Simple ESG) manages commercial waste needs, including trash pickup, in Las Vegas.
Republic has an exclusive franchise agreement with all municipalities in southern Nevada, which means Simple ESG must use Republic to collect its clients’ waste. The agreement allows Simple ESG to use other vendors to collect and haul its clients’ recycling and provide other services such as graffiti removal.
Simple ESG claims Republic is charging a premium to use the only landfill in the Las Vegas metro area that is owned by Republic and that Republic is erroneously charging Simple ESG for missed pickups. The lawsuit also states Republic is attempting to poach Simple ESG customers.
“We are filing this complaint now because Republic, on more than one occasion, has aggressively abused their position afforded to them with the exclusive franchise agreement against Simple ESG and our clients,” Danielle Basson, chief operating officer of Simple ESG, says in the report. “They had been doing it to us behind the scenes for years. The mistake they made was when they went directly after our clients.”
Republic filed a complaint against Simple ESG in February claiming the company owes Republic money. Tom Oudman, Republic area president, says in the report that the company is aware of the allegations and “looks forward to addressing it before the court.”
The Review-Journal reported in February 2017 that commercial property owners had been paying trash fees that were never approved by southern Nevada municipalities. The report says Basson has filed complaints with the cities of Henderson, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas and Clark County about alleged predatory business practices from Republic, but in December 2016, area lawmakers encouraged Basson to resolve the issues with Republic in court.
Simple ESG has 42 employees and Republic employs 1,300 people in the southern Nevada area.
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