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EDITORIAL
Good decision on garbage rates
It may turn out to be a small gesture, but Village
Council’s indication last month that it would maintain garbage rates
based on usage should be welcome news to Yellow Springers concerned about
the amount of trash Americans produce. That’s because the Village’s
rates are designed to encourage conservation and recycling.
Council members indicated that they agreed with
a recommendation from the Village solid waste task force to continue charging
residents and business owners for the amount of waste they produce. The
decision comes as the Village seeks bids for a new solid waste contract.
Council told Village Manager Rob Hillard to ask for bids from solid waste
haulers based on the Village’s current rate structure, which is based
on three tiers: 30 gallons, 60 gallons and 90 gallons of curbside garbage
collection. Those in the larger volume tiers subsidize the small volume
tier. The rates are structured in a way so those signed up for 30 gallons
pay less, per gallon, than those in the 60 gallon tier; and those in the
60 gallon tier pay less than those in the 90 gallon category.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls the
concept “pay-as-you-throw” and compares it to the way we pay
for other utilities such as electricity, water and natural gas. The point
of pay-as-you-throw programs is to encourage people to produce less waste
through an incentive: saving money. According to the U.S. EPA, 78 communities
in Ohio, and more than 5,000 nationwide, have some sort of pay-as-you-throw
system in place.
The solid waste task force, an ad hoc group Council
originally appointed last year to study the Village’s solid waste
rates and program, reported that there is abuse of the system, much of which
occurs when people put out on the curb extra trash that they are not paying
to dispose of. Through more garbage audits and better educational outreach,
however, the Village can curb that abuse, and help customers better understand
the philosophy behind the Village’s solid waste system.
In addition to maintaining the tiered solid waste
system, Council also said last month that it would consider implementing
a yard-waste recycling service. Under one suggestion from the solid waste
task force, Yellow Springers would pay for bags and tags for grass, leaves
and brush, which would be kept out of the garbage stream and would be recycled.
Such a system is also based on the pay-as-you-throw concept.
Back in 1999, Council had the foresight to establish
a garbage system based on use, in an effort to reduce waste. Four years
later, the solid waste task force found that the system is effective, and
that its few flaws can be addressed. As Debra Karns, a member of the solid
waste task force and the Village Environmental Commission, told Council,
“what we have here is a great system.” It’s good to see
that the current Council members agree.
—Robert Mihalek |
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