A crash in the global recycling market is driving up the cost of services from the West Central Solid Waste District, which has faced questions over its high cash reserves.
The district touted its years of educating the public on recycling, yard waste and household hazardous waste in response to Montgomery County’s plans to leave the organization at the end of the year and partner with the City of Crawfordsville to manage solid waste.
“I remember my dad used to pour used oil and antifreeze onto the gravel driveway so it would ‘disappear,’” West Central executive director Jane Collisi said in a statement issued after the Board of Commissioners approved the first resolution declaring the county’s intention to withdraw from the district.
“He had no idea it was being absorbed into the aquifer below ground … the same water that we were drinking and bathing in. There was no public education about these important health and safety issues back then,” Collisi added.
The county has argued it can provide the same services — such as annual Tox-Away Days — for less than it pays to the district, based on a financial analysis presented to the commissioners.
Collisi disputed some of the figures in the report, saying the projections for household hazardous waste “were inaccurate and do not reflect the full spectrum of program costs.”
A one-day Tox-Away event in Montgomery County can cost between $30,000-$40,000, Collisi said, about double the amount projected in the analysis.
The estimated Tox-Away costs in the report were based upon a three-year average and numbers provided by W Enterprise.
Out of the $57,000 Montgomery County contributed to the district in 2019, $54,000 was spent on programs serving the county’s residents, according to the district. The county’s share increased to $66,717 this year. Parke and Putnam counties also belong to the district.
The district said it has one of the lowest per person costs for solid waste management in the state at $2.36 per person. Indiana’s average per-capita cost for managing solid waste was $14.16 in 2018.
County contributions were lowered to $1.50 per person for three years beginning in 2016 to gradually reduce the district’s fund balance.
The declines in the recycling market are blamed on China’s decision to close its doors to loads of waste paper, metals or plastic unless they’re 99.5% pure. That’s an unattainable standard at U.S. single-stream recycling processing plants designed to churn out bales of paper or plastic that are, at best, 97% free of contaminants such as foam cups and food waste.
The resulting glut of recyclables has caused prices to plummet from levels already depressed by other economic forces, including lower prices for oil, a key ingredient in plastics.
China is the world’s leading recyclables buyer.
For the solid waste district, the higher program costs have reduced the fund balance “at a much faster rate,” Collisi said, shaving nearly $500,000 over four years. The district had $946,000 in reserves at the end of 2019.
Collisi said the district “proudly stands behind its efforts and contributions provided in the last 29 years,” acknowledging the elected county officials who serve on the organization’s board.
“It has been a privilege serving the residents and some truly inspiring teachers and students who care about the future of Montgomery County,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
