From providing curbside pickup to having only one bin, Madison County’s recycling system has been significantly scaled back.
And while fewer residents are likely recycling as a result, the county cut costs and is saving more than $200,000 a year on waste pickup fees.
In late 2016, the Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to significantly scale back the county’s recycling program, going from weekly curbside pickups to providing three drop-off bins for residents throughout the county, to help cut costs.
Today, the number of bins has been reduced to one, after complaints arose that two of them were being used for trash, not recyclables.
With the scaled back service, Madison County is saving about $230,000 a year. However, the number of residents recycling their used cardboard, plastic bottles and aluminum cans has likely plummeted.
Further, county leaders have received few complaints about the bin or the loss of curbside service in recent months.
“It’s been several months since we’ve had (a complaint),” said County Administrator Shelton Vance. “Then, it was (because the bin) was full.”
The bin is located at 141 Lake Cavalier Road, at the Southwest Madison County Fire Station.
It is emptied twice a week as part of an agreement with Waste Management.
“The original bins were picked up one time a week, but that was changed because of use,” Vance said.
The remaining receptacle is decidedly out-of-the-way for all but the most die-hard recyclers.
It’s 14 miles from Deerfield subdivision, 11 to 12 miles from Lake Caroline and approximately 10 miles from Ashbrooke.
With its remote location, Vance has quit recycling and suspects many others have quit recycling as well.
“There are definitely people who call and ask for the location of the bin,” he said. “Whether they go and drop off (materials), I can’t tell you.”
Vance did not know how much in recycling Waste Management collected from the bin. With curbside pickup, the county collected an average of 37 tons a month, he said.
The county ended curbside recycling in December 2016, largely because of its cost.
The service cost the county about $276,000 a year, or around $23,000 a month.
A year before, the county was paying around $13,300 a month for curbside collections, with Waste Management billing the county based on the number of stops made.
“Periodically, they would go through and count the number of stops,” Vance said. “It was part of the contract.”
At one point, the county was being billed for around 3,760, a number that fluctuated with counts.
“There were times when they’d go into subdivisions and would only see one or two (bins),” he said. “Waste Management said they couldn’t afford to run a truck in a neighborhood when they were only (making a few stops).”
The contract was re-written in 2016, with county leaders agreeing to pay for all potential stops, regardless of whether those homeowners participated or not. As a result, recycling costs nearly doubled, going from $13,300 a month to more than $23,000, according to invoices.
“In 2016, we went from 3,760 (homes) to 6,326,” he said.
At its peak, about 50 subdivisions participated, representing around 6,300 homes.
The service was only available to platted subdivisions, and to qualify, at least 50 percent of homeowners had to sign a petition saying they were interested in the service.
Residents living in unplatted areas were not eligible for the pickups but still had to pay for it, Vance said.
The county’s trash and recyclables pickup is funded by an annual millage rate. That amount is collected each year as part of the regular property tax.
