Kimble Companies, located in Dover, was awarded a contract for refuse and recycling waste collection. Based on feedback from our residents, trash and recycling service will continue to be done weekly. The contract begins July 1st with monthly fees seeing a slight increase. Citizens will receive new trash and recycling carts from Kimble and the ones from Waste Management will be picked up. Look for inserts in your May utility statement and announcements on the City's website and social media for the details.
When the current contract for waste services nears expiration, the City solicits bids. The City of Wooster selected Kimble Recycling and Disposal, Inc. following a competitive bid process as the lowest and best bidder. Our current waste hauler’s bid was 20% higher than Kimble for a greatly reduced service level.
Wooster is fortunate to be able to partner with Kimble Recycling and Disposal, Inc. to keep costs down as much as possible while still emphasizing recycling. Kimble is a local family-owned business with 68 years of experience in the refuse industry. In addition to a reputation for excellent service, Kimble will utilize trucks powered by natural gas which operate more quietly and efficiently. Natural Gas is a cleaner-burning fuel (fewer emissions) which improves the environment of the City’s neighborhoods. Natural gas is also generated here in Eastern Ohio, which helps the local economy and reduces dependency on foreign oil.
Learn more about Kimble at www.kimblecompanies.com.
The monthly price for refuse and recycling is increasing from $11.50 to $15.02 per month (regular) and $9.75 to $12.77 per month (senior).
Most of us want to recycle as it is the right thing to do for the environment. Recycling costs money because it must be hauled and managed before it can be used in new products. Recycling is collected in dedicated trucks, hauled to a recovery site, and sorted to be shipped to a purchaser of the material. If recycling is contaminated, it must be picked up again and taken to the landfill for disposal. The recycled material is then sold as a commodity and this helps bring down the cost of running the recycling program. The value of the commodities greatly affects the cost of the recycling service.
Turmoil in the global scrap markets began affecting the commodities markets a few years ago and has continued to deepen. At the end of 2017, China abruptly shut its doors to imports of recycled material. This drastic new policy was called the “National Sword”. The scrap price of plastic and low-grade paper collapsed sending the industry into unprecedented disruption. Since then, most waste companies are struggling to find mills to buy paper and mixed plastics. In fact, some companies have to pay someone to take the material, especially if the mill location requires the material to be hauled a long distance. The economics behind recycling show that now it is actually more expensive to recycle than haul the material to the landfill. Some cities are even abandoning curbside recycling due to increased costs. Recycling may come at increased costs but it is the right thing to do for the environment. Wooster is committed to providing curbside recycling for the community.
Unlike recycling, refuse is a simple process. Waste is picked up and hauled to a landfill to be buried. The cost to dump the refuse is called a tipping fee and is what pays to operate and maintain the landfill. Tipping fees are rising each year, in part due to the lack of reliable recycling markets as more material is going to the landfill. Additionally, the rise of online shopping and other factors also contribute to a growth in the amount of refuse and a rise in tipping fees. Just like increasing recycling costs, everyone is experiencing increasing costs in waste hauling.