Summit County residents may notice the rising cost of waste as the County Council looks for a new system to cover the cost of curbside recycling and trash collection.
The County Council has discussed the idea of creating an enterprise fund for garbage collection, which would shift the cost of waste and recycling pickup from the county’s operating fund to residents.
According to Summit County Manager Bob Jasper, the recycling and trash collection was all brought under one contract by the former County Commission and was supposed to be on a six-month trial. However, the service was never reviewed and the trash and recycling collection has not been paying for itself.
Jasper said that by shifting the cost to the residents who are using trash collection services and by charging more to homes that require a larger trash can, the burden will move from the wealthier second homeowners to those who live and work in the county, which isn’t a good thing.
Councilmember John Hanrahan disagreed.
“We have been working hard to balance our budget and put the cost of services on the people who are using them,” he said, adding that trash collection should be no different.
Issa Hamud, a waste consultant for the County Council, recommended the landfills also be converted to an enterprise fund to cover the cost of operation. Currently, the county’s revenue from the landfills does not cover the expenses, including the cost of closing the Three Mile and Henefer landfills and opening another one in the next 10 years. It is still unknown how the additional cost associated with the landfill would be recouped.
“Currently, the county pays $9.89 per household per month for trash collection, not including curbside recycling,” said Hamud, adding that the county pays from $5.45 up to $8.66 per house per month for recycling.
New bidders for garbage collection and curbside recycling will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Hamud said the county is hoping one company will provide both services. Despite budget cuts, Jasper and the County Council support expanding the curbside recycling program and providing larger bins and glass collection to residents, especially those in urban areas.
“Through our research, we have found the county has the potential for a lot more recycling. The average U.S. citizen in 2009 produced 4.3 pounds of waste per day. The average Summit County resident produced 5.7 pounds of waste per day. So we want to offer more recycling options,” said Hamud. “If we charge people more if they throw away more, they will become aware of the amount of waste they are producing.”
creating an enterprise fund, Hamud warned the County Council that residents may feel that trash collection has switched from a service to a business. The council discussed decreasing residents’ General Tax levy to balance out the creation of a garbage fee.
A new garbage provider and the possible creation of a service fee will be decided by the County Council in December.