Rittman Could Reap Recycling Benefits

By ADAM BURROUGHS

By ADAM BURROUGHS

Staff Writer

RITTMAN — Significant grant money may be lost potentially causing a rate increase for trash collection if residents don’t increase recycling efforts. Conversely, the new award structure also creates opportunity for the city to receive more grant money than before.

The Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste District, which helps manage the waste produced in the district, adopted a plan written by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in December 2006 that will change the structure of its grant award program in 2009.

Rittman receives two grants: One called Recycling Makes Sense for curbside recycling and a second called Composting Makes Sense for leaf and grass clipping collection.

Formerly, said Rittman Service Director Dave Simpson, “money was doled out by the amount of households served and the cost of recycling to the city.”

As of Jan. 1, 2009, Simpson said, the formula will change. The grant award will be based on the tonnage of recyclable material not taken to the Stark landfill.

For fiscal year 2007, the city received $12,360 from the Recycling Makes Sense grant.

Under the 2009 rules, which awards $45 per ton of recyclable material collected from residents, the city will receive about $9,000 if Rittman continues recycling at its current level of 200 tons of material per year. The city could potentially lose $3,360 per year.

A larger loss may be seen from the composting grant.

In 2007, Rittman received $36,050 in grant money for composting, Simpson said. Under the new rules, which award $20 per ton of compost collected, Rittman will receive $11,220 if it continues to recycle at its current level of 561 tons per year.

Potentially, Rittman could lose $24,000 in award money from the composting grant. The difference is large because the new structure calls for compost collection nine months out of the year. Currently, Rittman collects compost three months out of the year.

Residents may be required to make up for the loss of revenue.

“This grant money helps offset monthly refuse bill. There will be an increase (in cost) if money is lost from the grant,” Simpson said.

It is City Council that would negotiate the rate increase.

Councilman Lynn Beaumont said a rate increase is an option available to council, but it’s not something he wants to do. Instead, he said, he wants to push the recycling issue so a rate increase is unnecessary, adding avoiding this loss is a joint effort between the city and residents.

Though the new grant structure may cause a revenue loss, district grant administrator and program auditor Cindi Kerschbaumer points out municipalities could receive more grant money than they had previously.

Because award money is based on tonnage, residents need only increase recycling efforts to bring more money to the city.

“The more money we can get, the more benefit to the citizenry,” Beaumont said.

To educate the community and try to increase participation, Rittman has formed a task force composed of the mayor and other city officials.

“We will take every effort to educate residents and try to get a larger percentage of people participating in the curbside program,” Simpson said.

Mayor Bill Robertson said he wants to get the community involved in doing anything it can to save money and he does not want to see the loss translate to utility bills.

“Either we make a fundamental change in our recycling habits or we absorb this cost as a community,” he said.

The mayor said he is applying for the Model Community Grant, which will award a portion, or possibly all of a $250,000 grant from the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste District to at least one “model” community with a strong and successful recycling and composting program,” states a document from the district. The document states the grant, only available in 2008 and 2009, “will be available to fund a wide variety of program improvements.”

Simpson said Rittman residents have been issued a recycling tub. Residents who have lost or need a second tub may get one free of charge at city hall. He added residents need not separate recyclable materials into separate bins.

The task force is considering incentive programs that reward residents who recycle with credits for trash pickup, Simpson said. He said they also are seeking means of educating the community on the importance of recycling by including recycling “factoids” with utility bills or perhaps mailing informational fliers.

Reporter Adam Burroughs can be reached at 330-287-1623 or e-mail aburroughs@the-daily-record.com.

Originally published by By ADAM BURROUGHS Staff Writer.

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