Not "Business Friendly?"

R.I. Unfriendly to Business-Friendly Business

By Dave Fisher, ecoRI.org

It’s not difficult to have a conversation with just about any business owner in Rhode Island in which the phrase “not business friendly” comes up. Given what I know about the un-hyperbolically abysmal recycling rate in the state's commercial sector, I usually scoff at this, and ask, “Sure, but how friendly is the business sector to Rhode Island?”

Well, recently, I got to peek into just how unfriendly — and just how inequitable — Rhode Island is to some businesses.

Back in January, ecoRI News reported on a new business coming to Rhode Island offering a low-cost solution for recyclable collection to businesses and schools called Wrecycleit. The company was founded, in Richmond, Va., by Providence native and Johnson & Wales graduate Damon Harris. 

Harris wanted to bring his recyclable collection company back to Rhode Island, and is currently in the process of doing so. I won’t go into the particulars of the business, but I strongly urge you to click the link above, if for any reason but to put this column in perspective.

Shortly after the article was published on ecoRI News, I received an e-mail from a staffer at the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), stating that they would like me to “pass on (DEM) contact information to Damon and (his wife) Citirah Harris” so the agency could “learn more about their business, both to make sure that they are working within the regulations and also to be able to pass along correct information about Wrecycleit to the small businesses that (DEM) works with.”

I never responded to the e-mail, because, frankly, all of the contact information for Harris and the business were in the article we published.

Recently, I learned that Damon would be in town, and given the nice phone conversation that we had when I called him to write the aforementioned article, he mentioned that he’d like to get together and meet in person.

So, long story longer, I gave Damon my e-mail address and he sent along his phone number. I gave him a call with the unfortunate news that the clutch on my 10-year-old, American-made, fossil-fuel burning, carbon-spewing car had, to use the cleaned up local vernacular, defecated in the bed, and that meeting up was iffy at best.

During that phone call, I mentioned that I had gotten that e-mail from DEM and Damon was, in a word, astounded.

“I called DEM many times when I was thinking about bringing this concept to Rhode Island,” he said. “I want my company to follow all the rules and regulations, but they never responded to me.”

When I first looked into the recycling rates — or more aptly, the not-recycling rates — of Rhode Island’s business sector, I placed calls to all of the state's licensed waste haulers that collect and haul trash and state-mandated recyclables in order to get an idea of how widespread the problem may be. A typical call would go as follows:

Me: Yeah, I'm calling to get a quote on a Dumpster for a small business.

Waste hauler: OK. How big and how often would you need it emptied?

Me: Probably a 10-yard Dumpster emptied once a week.

Waste hauler: That will cost you $XX per week.

Me: What if there are only a couple of bags of trash in the Dumpster.

Waste hauler: We tip your Dumpster once a week for $XX.

Me: Can I get an on-call contract?

Waste hauler: No. We tip your Dumpster once a week, empty or full, for $XX.

Me: OK, thanks.

As ridiculous as it may sound, this is how every hauler in Rhode Island operates, but that’s not my point. My point is that there was never a conversation with any of these waste haulers that included:

Waste hauler: Sir, separating your recyclables is mandatory in Rhode Island. I will still provide you with just a Dumpster, but I strongly urge you to consider separate containers for your glass, plastic, metal and paper and/or cardboard.

While I applaud DEM's efforts to spread the word about this new solution to local businesses, I’ll certainly contend that its time is better spent bringing the thousands of small businesses in Rhode Island that are currently out of compliance — with regards to our legally mandated recycling rates — into compliance, before it starts tracking down a company that reached out for help — and was ignored — and very well may assist the agency in bringing many small businesses into compliance.

Given the probable scenario/conversation that I’ve outlined, the DEM has much bigger fish to catch when it comes to the state's waste hauling industry. I normally defend the heck out of DEM to the naysayers — usually to someone who is not happy that their construction project has to go through some permitting process — but, sorry DEM, I can't back you on this one.

Dave Fisher is the managing editor of ecoRI.org News. He resents that Rhode Island businesses are not held to the same standards as our residents vis-a-vis recycling.