RecyclingMonster - Recycling pickup in Brimfield will continue as usual while the Portage County Solid Waste District and township trustees work to come to terms on a new contract.

Bill Steiner, director of the Solid Waste Management District, said although the district’s contract with the township expired Dec. 31, service in the township will not be interrupted.

“The district commissioners have made it clear that there will be no interruption of service,” he said.

Steiner said he had a meeting scheduled with Trustee Nic Coia, and that he prefers to discuss the matter face-to-face.

Coia said he was not sure if commissioners needed to approve an extension, so he attended Thursday’s meeting. There, commissioners called for more dialogue with Brimfield over recycling.

Trustees recently voted down extending the recycling contract, saying that they want to conduct a survey first, one that asked residents if they want weekly service, biweekly or subscription service. “Subscription,” which allows residents to opt out of the service, is something the Solid Waste Management District has never offered, Steiner has said.

Residents are now paying $2.21 a month for weekly recycling, a rate that has been consistent for years. The new proposed rate is $3 a month, but would have residents get the service every other week.

Coia said the district recently told trustees that if a subscription service were implemented, the estimated 40 percent to 45 percent of residents who opted to recycle would pay about $7.15 a month for service. Coia said trustees found that rate acceptable if it means that nobody is paying for the service if they choose not to use it.

Trustees submitted their “best and final offer,” which he said called for a third party to survey residents, and for the district to provide whatever residents wanted, including subscription.

“It’s a much bigger issue than recycling,” he said. “I don’t think it’s necessary for our residents to subsidize a service program.”

Courtesy : www.record-courier.com