'Green' programs pushing landfill into the red

The Dispatch wrote ‘Green’ programs pushing landfill into the red
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
BY BARBARA CARMEN
The cost of dumping trash in central Ohio will go up $2 a ton next year, while landfill officials consider new ways to pay for operations. The current system “is sort of a Catch-22,” said Bradley Frick, president of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio.
The landfill, in Jackson Township near Grove City, relies on revenue, or “tipping fees,” from each ton of trash dumped there. But it also is pushing recycling, through educational programs and drop boxes, to reduce the amount of trash it gets — and to prevent the landfill from filling up.
Dumping is down this year by nearly 20 tons, largely because people are being more frugal, buying less and recycling more. As a result, the authority is using money from its rainy-day fund to get through this year. To manage next year, the authority voted 8-0 yesterday to increase fees Jan. 1, avoiding a $3 million deficit next year.
The board needs to quickly consider new ways to pay for landfill operations. Among the options: Charge a landfill fee for every parcel in the county that produces trash and bill it to property taxes. Such a move could stabilize SWACO’s income, spare cities the cost of tipping fees and even pay for a countywide recycling program.