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Ellwood City council hikes recycling rates By MARYALICE MELI, [email protected] RATES RISE: Ellwood City Borough Council responds to residents� complaints about not being able to participate in the annual cleanup by increasing the recycling fees. Ellwood City council raised the borough�s monthly recycling fee of $1.10 by 50 cents last night. The move is expected to raise $22,000 over the next year, enough to pay for a curbside pickup of large items in the annual cleanup next spring. Residents who were unable to convey larger items to the Dumpster site or who had to work during the 8 a.m. to noon Saturday program had protested this year�s change. Council canceled the curbside pickup in favor of localized Dumpsters when the $12,000 in the recycling fund was not enough to pay for the lowest curbside bid of $16,200. Council rejected member Ray Venezie�s alternative plan to raise money by increasing the garbage bag cost from $11 to $12 for 10 bags. Councilman Lou Cavalier pointed out the garbage bag cost has nothing to do with recycling or large item cleanup. Councilman Glenn Jones said the borough gets none of the current $1.10 recycling cost that goes to pay Aiken Refuse Co. for the recycling pickup. The new cost of $1.60 will appear on residents� monthly electric bill. Borough manager Joe Cioffi reported that the 2004 cleanup last month resulted in a total of 13 loads at a cost of $7,670. Mark Aiken, owner of Aiken Refuse Co., said he used to conduct the annual clean-up at no cost to the borough or residents as a service for having received the garbage hauling contract and because he is a lifelong Ellwood City resident. �For years, the borough paid for the landfill cost and I ate the cost of labor, trucks and fuel because I had the (garbage hauling) contract,� Aiken said. He had to stop that, he explained, when too many people abused the service by allowing township residents to bring in loads of items to the borough. He said he received phone calls from residents telling him who was cheating, but no one was able to prove it. The increased volume of items he picked up told Aiken that not everything was from Ellwood residents. He said the cleanups are �so hard on trucks, compacting sofas and larger items.� The current bag system in place for weekly garbage pickup is �sort of fair,� Aiken said. �The average household averages 1.3 bags a week. Old people love it; it�s tough on younger families, but it pushes recycling.� Add a comment  |
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