Hurdles remain for recycling carts program

January 14, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County’s proposed conversion from curbside recycling tubs to larger wheeled carts still has hurdles to overcome, Lou Vega, county recycling director, told the county solid waste policy committee.

Vega told the committee Tuesday the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will require that parts of the county’s solid waste management plan be rewritten because Mahoning would be borrowing $3.1 million to buy the carts and repaying that zero-interest loan through savings from closing 13 of its 29 drop-off recycling sites.

“We’ve got a lot of hurdles, but, keep in mind, right now, we’re just in the informational stage,” Vega said.

Vega said he believes the revised plan would have to be re-ratified by the county commissioners and the governing bodies of local communities representing 60 percent of the county’s population, including the mandatory approval of Youngstown City Council.

James Stratton, a committee member and former county recycling director, said he wants county recycling officials to re-examine whether the changes would require re-ratification of the plan.

“Let’s do some research; and let’s do some follow-up,” said Stratton, also a former member of the state solid waste policy committee.

Linda Fee Oros, an OEPA spokeswoman, said the county needs to rewrite parts of the plan and to have it re-ratified by the local community governing bodies.

“The current plan has no debt, which is what the community approved when they ratified it, so they need to agree to take on the debt,” Oros said.

The re-ratification also is needed because of the proposed reduction in drop-off sites in the plan, Oros said.

The plan, last ratified in 2013, is a 15-year plan, updated every five years.

Vega said he also needs to ascertain that Republic Services, which provides free curbside recycling in the county, will have the necessary trucks and equipment to automatically lift the carts and dump their contents into its collection trucks.

Vega said a long delay in approval of the carts program could mean the nine or 10-year loan from the corporate-funded Closed Loop program might no longer be available to the county.

Stratton said he doesn’t remember any previous debt being incurred by the county recycling division in its 25-year history.