Elmer City nixes recycling bin

No!

That was the result of a formal vote on recycling at the Elmer City council meeting last Thursday night.

Councilmembers had earlier, when polled, indicated that they were not interested in a recycling effort.

The Regional Board of Mayors met earlier that week and decided to try once again to see if recycling had any future here in the coulee. Traditionally, it only takes one of the four municipalities to say “no” to submarine any effort put forth by the RBOM.

Elmer City, as it did when its councilmembers were polled, didn’t want to spend $849.26, its share of the purchase price of a $13,000 recycling bin.

Working with a tight budget, and with the Tribal Recycling Center nearby, councilmembers feel that those who want to recycle can take their items up to the tribal location.

At the mayor’s meeting last week, all agreed to give recycling one more run and said they would talk to their councils one more time.

All are scheduled to have meetings with their councils before the mayors meet in February.

Mayors had agreed to purchase a $13,000 recycling bin if the various towns agreed to try recycling.

The cost of the bin was to be borne by the cities and towns, according to what percentage of materials they contributed to the transfer station’s total tonnage. Electric City’s share of the bin cost would be $3,255.48; Grand Coulee’s, $5,661.70; Coulee Dam’s, $4,387,82, and Elmer City’s, $849.26.

With Elmer City’s swift “no” response, the recycling idea will have to wait for another day.