ThisWeek CW 07/21/2011
The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio is anticipating its five-year solid waste management plan update will be ratified by Aug. 5.
The review cycle for the plan requires that it be updated every five years. During the review, SWACO addresses its programming needs for 15 years into the future. The update needs to be approved by 60 percent of SWACO-affiliated communities, including Franklin County commissioners and the city of Columbus.
“We believe we’ve already obtained enough votes for approval,” said Michael Greenberg, a contractor with GT Environmental Inc., who helped draft the update.
Canal Winchester may not be among those voting for the revisions, even though the proposal does not cover day-to-day operational plans or budgets.
Changes in SWACO operations — specifically, the requirement that trash collected in Franklin County be hauled to SWACO’s landfill — were blamed for the 2009 closing of Waste Management’s transfer station in Canal Winchester. Waste Management had been taking trash it collected to a company-owned landfill in Perry County.
The update now under consideration outlines the programs SWACO uses to manage the amount of solid waste it collects, which either ends up in a landfill or is recycled.
Funding for the programs comes from a $5 per ton generation fee. SWACO estimates that the generation fee will provide $5,693,165 in 2012.
According to the proposed new management plan, SWACO is planning to upgrade its Morse Road transfer station with a new facility, although funding for such a project is not part of the plan update.
“There are discussions of the infrastructure but as far as the budget goes, that isn’t part of this plan,” Greenberg said. “The plan programming comes from the generation fee, which can’t be used for the transfer stations. SWACO funds the transfer stations out of tipping fees.”
Last year, the SWACO board voted to increase the tipping fees by $3 per ton in 2011 and 2012 to help cover infrastructure and operational costs.
Canal Winchester Mayor Michael Ebert said the city is aware that the updated waste management plan is separate from operations and doesn’t have anything to do with the situation with the Waste Management transfer station. However, city council member Rick Deeds said it is part of a larger issue, which is a concern for Canal Winchester residents and council members.
“It wasn’t too many years ago where they were putting rules in place to push trash out of Franklin County, so does the landfill have more room or is it that they need more money?” Deeds asked. “What is our incentive to support their plan?”
One program that Remy pointed to is SWACO’s ability to form consortiums to save customers money.
“One thing we’ve done is set up waste consortiums to bid out services for eight or nine communities to get a great price,” Remy said. “Most recent was eight communities, which came in under $14 per resident per month. Canal Winchester is welcome to join those kinds of consortiums.”
Deeds said the current 10-year Waste Management trash-hauling contract in Canal Winchester beat out the consortium pricing in 2010. The contract allows for an increase each year, if necessary, due to SWACO’s 2011 and 2012 tipping fee adjustments, and can be reviewed every three years.
“Waste Management has always been a good neighbor for us and the last time we priced out consortium, they couldn’t compete with Waste Management,” Deeds said.
Remy pointed out that SWACO is mandated to reduce reliance on landfills “so the generation fee pays for the support programs to meet that mandate.
“The $5 fee hasn’t changed since the solid waste district was mandated,” he said.
According to documents provided by SWACO, all of the numbers in the revised plan have been updated to reflect a current picture of what is going into the landfill versus what is being recycled. The plan also includes program participation rates and information about funds budgeted for programs.
Due to budgetary constraints during the previous planning cycle, according to the draft, the COSI solid waste exhibit and the Columbus Zoo “My House” exhibit funding have been discontinued, as has the Just In Time recycling program and a RASTRA recycling program. RASTRA is the brand name of a type of insulating concrete made from polystyrene and other types of waste products that is shaped into building materials used primarily for walls and roofs.
The resource library materials have been donated to the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, which will continue to maintain the library.
New programs include an updated communications plan, which includes funding for social media outreach and business outreach (including the expansion of the Green Spot program), watershed planning, a Program and Facilities Advisory Committee and a non-subscription curbside recycling program in the city of Columbus.
Canal Winchester City Council is expected to vote on whether to support the solid waste management plan prior to the Aug. 5 deadline. The SWACO board must then certify ratification of the plan update before submitting it to the Ohio EPA for final approval.