Garbage hauler rebuts recycling argument

Recycling was again the main topic at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting on Monday.

The mayors all paid lip service to the idea but by the end of the day nothing had changed.

The recycling idea had come up at the mayors’ March meeting when Kimberly Christensen informed the mayors that she wanted to start a recycling program in the area. She had already developed her own recycling company called Ever-Green Recycling.

Christensen said she wanted to get locations in each of the towns for recycling bins.

She also suggested to the mayors that they look at going into the garbage hauling business.

That brought out Dick Howe, from Sunrise Disposal on Monday. He asked if Christensen had gone out to price garbage trucks and insurance costs.

He had appeared to counter Christensen’s idea of the RBOM going into the solid waste business.

When Christensen didn’t appear, because she was out of town, Howe said he would return for next month’s meeting when the Ever-Green Recycling owner is scheduled again.

Sunrise Disposal is currently working on the third year of a five-year contract for garbage services in the four towns. The contract includes providing recycling services and local education in schools about recycling, but those services are not being offered.

“Everyone in this room believes in recycling,” Howe said, “but it isn’t economically feasible.”

Chairman Quincy Snow, mayor of Coulee Dam, stated, “Our communities are just too small for recycling.”

Howe said that Sunrise Disposal has a bin trailer that would be available if recycling was started. He said the trailer has six different compartments.

The mayors agreed, however, that any recycling project would take weight away from the Transfer Station’s revenue stream and cost their business money.

Their concern was that when you take the weight of recycling off the tipping fees, the transfer station might become insolvent.

Already, the amount the transfer station has been able to charge for “tipping”, or dumping, there for the first three months of the year is $3,487.99 less than the cost of the operation.

The mayors will take up the recycling issue again in May.