Dive Brief:

• The state-appointed Receivership Transition Authority Board (RTAB) has approved a $3.74 million one-year collection contract between Republic Services and Flint, MI, as reported by MLive.
• How much Republic and Rizzo Environmental Services will be paid for their weeks of simultaneous collections has yet to be decided. Republic is operating under a temporary contract per the orders of a local judge until Nov. 11. Mayor Karen Weaver hired Rizzo through two emergency contracts totaling approximately $268,000.
• Flint's chief financial officer told RTAB that the current plan is to partially pay both haulers. Though City Council President Kerry Nelson said he will not support any recommendations to pay Rizzo for the emergency contracts because, "there was no emergency."

Dive Insight:

While Republic and Flint still need to work out a few details before officially executing this new contract, the deal is all but finalized. This wraps up a highly contentious four month period of lawsuits, temporarily suspended collections and acrimonious political debate. Weaver's stance was that Rizzo's bid was cheaper, though the majority of council members questioned the company's integrity and said that Republic's higher bid actually offered more services.

Over the past two weeks details have begun to emerge about Rizzo's alleged involvement in a federal corruption investigation, which at least one council member said has validated his concerns. CEO Chuck Rizzo Jr. resigned on Oct. 25 after details of a second case emerged and it's possible that the company could lose more local business. 

Rizzo has not been officially named or charged with any criminal wrongdoing and previously said it will cooperate with authorities. Canadian company GFL Environmental, which recently acquired Rizzo, has said it was unaware of the investigation until now and is "outraged" by the news. All operations will now be switched over to the GFL name and Rizzo trucks will be repainted.