To the editor:
Should Athens City residents care about the county parcel fee issue for solid waste programming? Yes! — for a lot of very important reasons. Here are a few:
Right now, Rumpke hauls our recycling to the Athens Hocking Recycling Center. If that goes under (thanks to loss of the Athens City contract), Rumpke will take our recycling to their facility NORTH of Columbus, with all the fuel and inefficiency of that incessant operation! In addition, Rumpke’s “recycling” of plastic involves sending it to a pyrolysis plant to be turned into fuel to be burned. Their plastics journey is likely to include
shipment to the Gulf Coast to feed chemical plants or for export — with all the emissions of both transport and burning.
There is also no alternative composting in our region if AHRC goes under. Composting is especially important as food waste becomes one of the largest sources of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. AHRC has been in the process of expanding its composting program to be able to handle food waste from large operations like state parks and other food service facilities.
With no rate increase in 30 years, the Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District (AHSWD) needs to raise rates to support essential programs: recycling days, tire cleanups, household hazardous waste collection, recycling drop-off sites, and health and sheriff department support for a clean and healthy District. A $24/year fee on improved parcels (parcels with buildings) has been decided on as the most equitable and stable solution to ensure funding for these programs. It will also allow the District to purchase the Recycling Center, necessary to ensure longterm access to recycling and composting at cost. Purchase of the recycling center is necessary to ensure all of Athens County — including Athens City — retains real and efficient recycling (and composting!). Read more at https://ahswd.org/about-us/solid-waste-plan/
The alternative to the fee is raising trash-dumping “generation” — fees for haulers, which will likely get passed on to customers, likely costing customers well more than $2/month and causing small haulers to get priced out of the market, due to Rumpke’s greater ability to absorb costs. And once Rumpke has a county-wide monopoly there will be no limit to likely costs for customers and the City for the next contract.
The Commissioners will vote on July 16 on the parcel fee. Please contact them to express support for this high-value investment in our City’s and County’s health: Lenny Eliason: leliason@athensoh.org; Chris Chmiel: cchmiel@athensoh.org; Charlie Adkins: cadkins@athensoh.org, and Joann Rockhold, Clerk: jsikorski@athensoh.org.
$24/year — set for 10 years (unless it decreases, which is apparently likely!) — is a great deal: You’ll know where your money is going and that it’s supporting necessary and valuable programs and keeping these programs affordable and accessible. Investing in not-for-profit services means local control, price stability, and a healthy City and county for the longterm future.
Heather Cantino
Athens, Ohio
