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Rustick to remove recycling bins in county |
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Written by Publisher
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Saturday, 28 March 2009 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
Rustick LLC announced Friday that it plans to suspend its free collection of recyclable materials beginning the week of April 6. The company, which operates the former county landfill in Hutchins, will remove these four recycling collection bins from a parking lot on North Fraley Street in Kane. Rustick has been losing between $8,000 and $10,000 per month with its voluntary recycling program since the markets for recyclables dropped in October.
By Ted Lutz
Republican Staff
Faced with mounting losses for its free recycling program, Rustick LLC soon will be suspending the operation and removing collection bins from sites throughout McKean County.
“We’re very disappointed,” Rustick Recycling Manager Dick Tyger said Friday in announcing the company’s plan to remove the bins beginning April 6. “But, being a business, we can’t keep eating our losses month after month.”
Rustick officials claim the company has been losing between $8,000 and $10,000 per month with its recycling program since the markets for recyclables fell drastically in October. The decline in prices for recyclables such as cardboard, aluminum cans and plastic bottles coincides with the current economic recession.
According to a statement, Rustick has provided the recycling collection bins since late 2005 “at no charge to the residents.”
“We are not able to do it for free anymore,” Rustick President Richard L. Godshall said a meeting March 20.
The company has 36 collection bins at about 25 locations in McKean County. There are four bins in Kane at a parking lot on North Fraley Street.
Other area collection bins are located in Ludlow, Wetmore Township, Lantz Corners and Mt. Jewett.
Rustick employees travel to the sites to empty the bins. The recyclables then are transported back to the landfill in Hutchins where they are sorted. The items are sold to companies using recyclables as raw materials for products.
Due to the economic setback, the market for recyclables has dried up and Rustick has had trouble finding companies willing to take the items even at cut-rate prices.
Rustick said it would suspend its recycling operation “until the value of recyclable materials recovers or funds can be made available to restart the program.”
Rustick will continue to maintain its recycling collection bins at the landfill. However, municipal officials doubt whether residents will travel to the remote landfill location in Hutchins to drop off their recyclables.
In addition to cardboard, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, Rustick accepts scrap steel, tires, batteries, used clothing, electronics and glass at its landfill collection site. A fee is charged for tires.
According to Rustick, county officials have “appreciated the free service provided by Rustick LCC and certainly understand their inability to continue to provide these services with very little or no revenue from sale of recyclables nor any fees to offset expenses.”
Rustick twice in the past two months has met with area state, county and municipal officials to explain its dilemma in offering recycling at a loss.
Speaking at a meeting March 20 in Smethport, Godshall said the company was willing to wait at least a week before suspending the recycling program and removing the collection bins. He had hopes that a financial plan could be worked out to stem the losses from the recycling program. That week has come and gone and no one has stepped forward with financial help.
Joe DeMott, chairman of the McKean County Board of Commissioners, said March 20 that the county “doesn’t have the money” to subsidize recycling.
According to Rustick officials, all landfills in the state are assessed a fee by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for recycling. The fee is $2 per ton of garbage handled at the landfill, Rustick has said. Since Rustick annually handles about 50,000 tons of garbage at the landfill in Hutchins, the company pays $100,000 to the DEP each year for the recycling fund. This fee is in addition to other charges assessed by the DEP.
During the meeting on March 20, it was pointed out that the DEP is collecting $140 million a year in recycling fees.
Recycling in McKean County is voluntary except for the city of Bradford, which is mandated by the state to provide curbside recycling.
The suspension of recycling will give residents limited options for disposing of their recyclables. Most residents are expected to simply place items in garbage bags for weekly collection. However, some officials worry that residents will drop off some recyclable items in illegal dumps or deposit them along rural roads.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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