City looks at refuse options with joint waste district fate unknown

Athens City Council discussed various options with regard to recycling and refuse throughout the city last week in response Athens County recently considering the possibility of pulling out of the Athens-Hocking Joint Solid Waste District.

The Athens County Commissioners have been discussing the possibility as the district contract is up for renegotiation this year, and during these contract talks is the only time that the county has the ability to pull out of the joint district without the approval of the other county. The move is being considered as the district faces some difficult financial times.

The commissioners want to hear from a consultant on the issue before reaching a decision.

"Athens has always been [ahead of the game] on recycling," Third Ward member Nancy Bain told City Council last Monday, later suggesting a possible hike in recycling fees.

The city of Athens currently pays the joint district about $1 million per year for garbage collection and curbside recycling pick-up, Bain said.

That being the case, Bain said that the Athens-Hocking district has the lowest possible fees in the state. A longtime member of the district's policy committee, Bain said that approximately three-fourths of the $1 million provided by the city each year pays for garbage collection, with the remainder paying for recycling efforts. Athens residents currently pay $2.50 per month for unlimited recycling, while garbage-collection rates are based on volume.

The idea behind the system is that residents can lower their garbage bill by recycling more in the "pay as you throw" system.

But the district faces some difficult economic times.

"The current funding that we have cannot pay both office people plus do the tasks that are outlined," Bain said.

Bain said that private haulers are pressuring the county to stop collecting garbage and to focus on recycling. Currently, she said, recycling is paid for with the recycling fee, as well as sale of the commodities in the recycling process. However, the commodities market has slumped over the past several years.

With the commodities market not being so healthy, Bain said, the district is only making around $200,000 on the materials when it used to earn about $500,000.

"The whole apparatus hinged upon the price of materials," she said. "So what we need, probably fairly soon, is a little bit of a boost in one of the fees to help offset the problems that we have with the sale of materials. And the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned."

Bain suggested either a temporary or permanent increase in the recycling fee, and has said that she's considering introducing an ordinance that would raise the recycling fee by between 50 cents and $1.

With the city under contract with the district for another two years, if either side pulls out, Athens and Ohio University could be left without garbage service. Bain said she is currently taking steps to ensure that this will not happen.

She said that the difference in views of Athens County and Hocking County officials on the matter is the worst she's seen in the district.

"When all of these political things work out, we may not have a hauler," Bain said.

The city needs to look at its residential and commercial hauler licensures, Bain said, and perhaps adopt an ordinance that will allow for more versatility and a wider array of options.

"I think I was the person who wrote that initial law that started the licenses, and I do think it's time to terminate it and to have a discussion in late summer, once the administration has some clear understanding of where we're going, of how we want to proceed after [the city's contract with the district is up]," she said.

Bain said that the city needs to tell the private haulers that their licenses will expire and encourage them to try for additional hauling contracts in the future, though it would be a different type of participation.

"All options are still open," Bain said. "We may not have a hauler in two years, and we really need to be ready to face it."

OU also has two more years of contract with the district, Bain said. Efforts to speak with a university official about the matter over the weekend were unsuccessful.