Trash hauler offers Elburn less pickups, higher price on recyclables

In an effort to curb the problem of recyclables being blown around town, Elburn trustees turned to Waste Management but were less than thrilled with the company’s proposed solution.

Waste Management — with which the village has a contract that runs through September 2013 — has proposed issuing 96-gallon wheeled, lidded toters to all residents, just for the recyclable materials. The toters would be emptied every other week.

Right now, Elburn residents get an 18-gallon unlidded bin from Waste Management as part of their $14.97-a-month bill. They can also rent a 63-gallon recycling toter. Or they can buy their own toter or garbage can and mark it “recycling.” All of these are emptied weekly.

By emptying every other week, Waste Management would save on transportation costs, and there would be less wear and tear on village streets from its trucks, according to the proposal. And the 96-gallon toters are designed to be picked up mechanically, not by a human.

But Waste Management would charge an extra $1.03 to $1.40 cents a month for the 96-gallon toter.

Trustee Ethan Hastert called the plan “a reduction in service for an increase in price.” His family of four fills a 63-gallon toter with recyclables every week, he said. The proposed plan likely would force him to throw away some recyclable materials, he said. He suspects people also will forget which week is their week for recycling.

Trustee David Gualdoni worries about odors. “So it (recyclables) is going to be out there for two weeks?” he said. He also noted that while the footprint of the toter may be the same as that of the bin, people may not be able to fit it under their garage shelves. That could be important to people with one-car garages, especially those in subdivisions that require indoor storage of garbage cans and bins.

Educating people about the need to put a lid or heavy object on top the recyclables has failed so far. The village sent out a recycling booklet with water bills recently, “and the next week everything was blowing all over because it wasn’t covered,” Trustee Jeff Walter said. Trustees discussed asking people to not set their recyclables out until the morning of pickup.

“There are people out there who, God bless them, are never going to care,” said Village President Dave Anderson, who favored the 96-gallon toter plan.

Trustees directed Village Administrator Erin Willrett to ask Waste Management for a better price on the proposal. She said she will, but mentioned she had already asked the company for that three times.