Recycling costs have soared more than 150 percent for Monroe County since Frenchtown Township ended its curbside recycling program in 2019.
That’s the word from Dan Rock, Recycling and Green Community Program coordinator for the county who, in conjunction with Republic Services, oversees the county wide “Recycle Now” program of free drop-offs of recycling materials at several sites, including one that’s open every Wednesday behind the Monroe Township Hall off Dunbar Rd. The bins have been overflowing there and at the Kroger store in Dundee, another drop-off site, due to Frenchtown residents streaming there every week to get rid of their recyclables. Republic can’t replace the bins fast enough to keep up with demand, Rock said. Most of the materials are plastic, which is harder to find a market for reuse and repurposing.
“It’s been that way since Frenchtown went off” the program, Rock said last week. “It’s created a bit of an issue. The bins are full at Monroetown and we had four full bins at Dundee. We can’t keep up. So much of it is single-use plastic out there. Companies make it and leave it up to the local (communities) to find uses for.”
Costs of the county’s most recent three-year contract with Republic to pick up and recycle the glass, tin cans and other materials shot up 71 percent, Rock said. The pact is expiring this year and the county is bracing for another sharp increase due to declining markets for plastic.
“We put it out for bid, and Republic had the best bid to come back,” he said. “There’s no market for these materials. It’s so cheap to manufacture fresh new plastic than to make it from old plastic.”
All of the materials gathered in the bins are taken to a material sorting center in New Boston that was formerly owned by Republic, but which was recently sold.
There were other issues, too. Two weeks ago, Republic’s delivery truck that brings trailers to Monroe Township broke down and the drop-offs had to be pushed back a day. That only added to the woes, he said. Usually, the township site can fill eight trailers with recyclables, more than any other site in the county.
There is some good news, Frenchtown Township Supervisor Al VanWashenvova said. The township committee that was formed after the township shut down its recycling program and then had to suspend its efforts due to COVID-19 and the fall election will resume meeting again perhaps this week.
VanWashenova said Stevens Disposal and Recycling Service, the township’s waste hauler, is willing to offer a recycling program when the township is ready. He said the Petersburg firm was the only contractor that replied to the township when it reached out to businesses. However, the eight-member panel needs to find a business or other place to locate trailers for drop-offs, he said.
“Stevens is ready to roll and partner with us, but we still need a temporary site to start recycling,” he said. “We want to get it running as soon as possible.”
Before it stopped meeting last year, the committee had visited other recycling programs in the region to explore costs of providing facilities, bins and sorting and recycling materials.
“They went all over Southeast Michigan to do the research. They’re digging their heels in,” the supervisor said.
He was unsure if the committee would work with county.