Ohio solid waste district scaling back yard waste program

The Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District in Bolivar, Ohio, is suspending its yard waste collection and scaling back its drop off sites amid rising costs, a report by Inde Online says. The district will suspend its yard waste collection between Jan. 1 and March 17 to asses the future of the service and cut down its drop off sites from 10 to five.

David Held, executive director with the district, says in the report that skyrocketing costs of yard waste hauling and collection are the reason for the cuts. Other cut backs include requiring collection sites to close their gates to prevent contractors from dumping yard waste and giving block grants to the remaining collection sites to limit program spending.

Held says in the report that once the municipalities spend the block grant money, it must decide to use its own money or suspend collection.

The district has spent $400,000 in 2017 on its yard waste program, the report says. State law doesn’t require the district to recycle the debris and the cost of the yard waste program is affecting the operation costs of its state-mandated recycling programs for paper, plastic, glass, cans and cardboard.

Held says in the report the district wants to cut its yard waste program costs to $300,000 per year and will begin to suspend collections during the winter to save $30,000. He also says in the report that the program is only intended for residential use, but local contractors have been leaving large amounts around the sites, causing a hike in costs.

Another reason the district is debating its yard waste program is the lack of demand for mulch. Held says consumers are using stone rather than mulch with plants, which reduces the demand for wood chips.

The district has a three-year contract with Earth’n’Wood, a mulch supplier with locations in North Canton, Akron, Hudson and Norton, Ohio, set to expire at the end of the year to haul away debris. The current contracted rate is $112 per 40-yard loads. Craig Snee, an owner of Earth’n’Wood, is asking to hike up the charge to $145 per 40-yard loads in the contract renewal, Held says in the report. Competitors are asking for $300 per load.

Held says he is holding off on renewing the contract with Earth’n’Wood until a decision on which yard sites will be shut down is made.