Smash My Trash owner tells Storey County commissioners waste franchise provision threatens his business

At the June 3 meeting of the Storey County Board of County Commissioners, Derek Metz, owner of the mobile compaction company Smash My Trash, told commissioners a provision in the county's new waste franchise agreement that prohibits compaction is threatening his business and existing customer contracts.

Metz said his company, which he described as an "award winning mobile waste compaction service," had repeatedly asked county staff to remove the language before the franchise was approved. "We knew that this provision was added by Waste Management for the sole purpose of shutting down my business," he said. Metz told the board that Waste Management had formally demanded Smash My Trash cease operations in Storey County and that legal threats had been made "against both my company and my customers."

Metz described his equipment as "specifically engineered to safely and effectively compact waste" and said the practice of compacting dumpsters is widespread. He emphasized local demand for better service, saying his company's growth reflects frustration with the existing waste industry and poor customer service. "Customer service in response to business needs are huge gaps," he said, adding that Smash My Trash had been named "the most innovative green business of 2024."

Metz told commissioners the exclusivity provision in the new franchise "not only interferes with our existing contractual relationships with our customers, but also represents significant overreach of Waste Management." He asked the board to consider removing the language, and said the clause amounted to "effectively a governmental taking of my business." No public-action item related to the franchise language was introduced during the meeting; Metz's remarks were recorded during the public-comment portion of the agenda.

The county did not take action on the request during the meeting, and no county staff member presented a response on the record to Metz's request. The franchise agreement itself and the county's rationale for the compaction prohibition were not read into the public record at the session.

Metz's public comment was limited to the matters not on the day's calendar and he concluded by asking the commission to "consider removal of this language."