It’s not a story with glitz and glamour but it is a story that could end up hitting Springfield residents in the pocketbook.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that cities can force companies who collect garbage within their city limits to send that trash to city-owned landfills. This results in higher fees being charged to the garbage companies for disposal of the trash and more revenue being brought into the cities. According to the Springfield News-Leader, the companies serving Springfield can either take the trash to city landfills or to their own private landfills.
While Mark Thornsberry, Springfield Public Works Director, said the increased trash flow could mean the city lowers it’s “tipping fee” (or cost to dump a load of trash) he also said that the increase in revenues could significantly improve recycling programs. Which do you think will be the first choice?
On the surface it doesn’t seem like a bad idea until you realize that the trash companies aren’t going to just whistle a happy tune and pay the higher fees without passing it on to their customers. So these increased costs to trash collection companies…offset by the consumer/landowner/city resident in higher rates…is going to be funding city recycling services. In a roundabout way, this is similar to a tax increase on the citizens to fund recycling programs without city council having to say they are raising your taxes. After all, the burden for this will be falling on Joe Taxpayer.
The Council is apparently going to create a “Citizens Solid Waste Task Force” to look at restructuring city trash collection and expand recycling efforts. What that statement by the city implies is that the decision has already been made to keep all trash within city landfills and the cost is going to be passed onto the citizens. (Hence the “expand recycling efforts.” If they were going to discuss if the trash should be kept in the city and changes made at all there would be no need to announce you’re going to start out with discussions to expand recycling efforts.) There would not be as much as a single public hearing or serious discussion with local residents about whether this would really be a benefit to the residents because the increase would come through their private trash companies instead of the city itself. It’s a classic bait and switch.
I’m not against expanded recycling efforts. I’m not necessarily against the idea of keeping all trash within the city system for the increased revenue to the city. I’m just wondering if we need to rush into this avenue of revenue now or if it’s something that we as a city need to keep on the back burner for times that get tough. How much could this bring in and could it off-set an increase in property taxes on the residents in the future? Is there a way to keep this arrow in the quiver to slay a dragon a year from now instead of a rabbit right now?
I hope the Council allows the Citizens Solid Waste Task Force to have the option to come back and tell the city it would be a wiser move not to undertake any restructuring of city trash collection at this time. The Task Force may come back and say its necessary and outline it’s reasons for that position but they need to go into the investigation of the process with all options on the table and that includes keeping the status quo.
At one time the City was trying to get “flow -Control” in order to build a recycling center that the voters voted for, but was abandoned when they could not get cooperation from private trash haulers. That was in the late 1980’s if I remember correctly and maybe someone else who reads this blog may remember this better).
I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that some trash companies who claim to pick up your recycling end up dumping it with the rest of the trash?