Jason Eckart
HOPE – Hope Town Council members are continuing to try to find a way to keep their recycling containers in operation.
When the community of 2,100 residents first put in a recycling container off Mill Street in May 2019, the town paid $5,530 a year. But the following year, the price jumped to $12,640. It then increased to $18,525 in 2021 before rising to $24,214 last year, town manager Jason Eckart said.
Calling the steep increases unsustainable, most town council members said they felt they had no choice but to remove it last February.
However, council president Ohmer Miller asked that the container remain in place for a few months while Eckart attempted to seek out more affordable options.
“I have researched and talked with several different companies including Rumpke, Best Way, and Waste Management,” Eckart said. “I cannot seem to get any cheaper prices … than what we are currently paying.”
However, council members still want a recycling alternative, if possible.
It’s taken five years to get Hope residents recycling to the point where the dumpster has to be emptied four times a month, the town manager said. “I’d hate to step back and get rid of it now,” Eckart said.
While most council members agreed with their town manager, skyrocketing costs remain a significant concern.
“It’s $24,000 this year,” Miller said. “But what will it be at the end of the year?”
“It’s not like we want to take recycling from our community, but how long can we sustain the higher costs?” Pittman asked.
“I think recycling is the right thing to do,” Eckart said “But at what cost?”
One option discussed by the council was to have a trash company provide recycling services to customers on an individual basis. However, no company was willing to do that for less than 300 households who were willing to pay $17 a month on a sustainable basis, Eckart said. The entire community only has 686 residences, so recruiting and sustaining the minimum 300 homes is highly unlikely, the town manager said.
Steve Robertson, who frequently advises the council on road and bridge projects, suggested that enough homeowners might agree to individual recycling if they only had to pay $9 a month and the city would agree to subsidize the remaining costs.
While his suggestion was lauded, Pittman said she still doubts 44% or more of all households in Hope would agree to sign up for recycling. During 2017 hearings regarding mandatory trash pickup, several Hope residents said they regularly take their recyclables to the Petersville Convenience Station, located seven miles from Hope along East 25th Street.
Eckart said he even talked to Bartholomew County Commissioners’ Chairman Tony London about the town’s dilemma.
“The commissioners put it in one of their work sessions, but (London) didn’t think it would be feasible to participate financially,” Eckart said.
Finally, Pittman asked if it were possible for the town council to agree to pay $24,000 for the rest of 2023, and reevaluate their position at the end of the year.
The money currently used to pay for the recycling container comes from economic development income tax (EDIT) funds, Hope Clerk-Treasurer Diane Burton said.
“There’s money,” Burton said in a reply to Pittman’s question. “It just depends on what you want to spend it on.”
Although town officials say a significant portion of the EDIT funds are already earmarked for other purposes, the town council will meet in special session on Wednesday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss their options.
