Eagle Pass council authorizes negotiation with recommended contractor for recycling center rebuild after heated debate

EAGLE PASS, Texas — The Eagle Pass City Council on Nov. 18 voted to authorize city staff to negotiate with the administration's recommended contractor for RFP 2025031, a contract to design and build a pilot recycling collection center, after hearing competing presentations from a private operator and city staff.

Andres Barrera, owner of Reuse, told the council he believes private operators can run the service more efficiently than the city and offered to do so with no charges to residents. "We can provide an equal or better service at a significantly lower cost with 0 charges to residents," Barrera said, adding his estimate of an annual operating fee to the city of roughly $150,000 compared with what he described as the city's higher per-ton costs.

City staff, represented in presentations by Mary Castle and other staff, urged caution about shifting full operations to a private contractor. Castle noted the recycling center burned on "08/26/2024" and that insurance proceeds and TML-related funds are available to rebuild. She said…