Opt-Out Recycling
Once again, I voted against the recycling ordinance, even though I firmly believe recycling is right. I objected not to the idea of recycling, but to the ordinance itself. I don't like ordinances that cost our residents unnecessary money.
During the February 10 City Council meeting, I raised two objections to the ordinance. One was explained to my satisfaction. The other was not.
First, I objected to the $50 fee a resident incurs if, after the 60-day opt-out period, he wishes to return his container and stop recycling. I learned that $50 is the actual cost of the blue container used in our city for curb-side recycling, and that Allied Waste, our contracted service provider, will incur losses when it must retrieve unwanted containers. Without the $50 fee, the company would have to eat not only the pick-up expense, but also the cost of the container.
If I were to go to Target or Wal-Mart to purchase a container of similar size and durability, I would pay at least $50. I'm willing to concede that this is a fair fee.
My second objection is not so easily overcome, at least not in my mind. I object to the fact that the ordinance raises the monthly pick-up fee from $4.50 to $5.40.
Bear in mind that this fee covers the cost of pick-up only, and is not needed to offset the cost of sorting or marketing recyclables. According to my cocktail-napkin calculations, if the same trucks must cover the same routes, but may now divide their costs among 5,000 more households, then the cost per household should go down, not up.
At present, only 1,000 out of 7,000 American Fork households recycle. Adding 5,000 more households (an arbitrary assumption, but reasonable enough) would raise revenues six-fold, meaning Allied Waste could multiply by six the number of trucks it sends and still not need a higher fee.
I have been told that Orem, when it went city-wide with its recycling program, lowered its per-household fee to $3. But American Fork will not see a lower fee, because the City is under contract to Allied Waste to pay $4.47 per month for each container it empties. So, I asked, thinking about renegotiation, when does the contract expire? Nobody could tell me -- nobody from the City, and nobody from Allied Waste.
The increased fee, it turns out, goes to cover administrative costs on the City side. Which administrative costs those will be is not specified.
Turning my napkin to the other side, I did some more figuring. 6,000 households (my assumed take rate) multiplied by 90 extra cents per household, then by twelve months per year, equals $64,800 -- at least a full-time salary.
Whatever those unspecified administrative costs are, I'm certain they don't require an additional full-time hire. To my eye, this fee is a hidden, mid-year tax increase. This is not something I can vote for, not in uncertain economic times, and not without knowing what the money will be used for.
So I voted nay, but the ordinance passed without me. I hear that some residents have already begun responding to the notice on the Web site by opting out. I believe in recycling and would like to see the program succeed, but I can't fault those who disagree, or who wish to continue recycling through other means without paying $5.40 per month.
For further information on the program, visit the American Fork City Web site. For further explanation of my views on recycling, check out two of my earlier entries here at the blog:
Should American Fork Recycle?
Rethinking Recycling
During the February 10 City Council meeting, I raised two objections to the ordinance. One was explained to my satisfaction. The other was not.
First, I objected to the $50 fee a resident incurs if, after the 60-day opt-out period, he wishes to return his container and stop recycling. I learned that $50 is the actual cost of the blue container used in our city for curb-side recycling, and that Allied Waste, our contracted service provider, will incur losses when it must retrieve unwanted containers. Without the $50 fee, the company would have to eat not only the pick-up expense, but also the cost of the container.
If I were to go to Target or Wal-Mart to purchase a container of similar size and durability, I would pay at least $50. I'm willing to concede that this is a fair fee.
My second objection is not so easily overcome, at least not in my mind. I object to the fact that the ordinance raises the monthly pick-up fee from $4.50 to $5.40.
Bear in mind that this fee covers the cost of pick-up only, and is not needed to offset the cost of sorting or marketing recyclables. According to my cocktail-napkin calculations, if the same trucks must cover the same routes, but may now divide their costs among 5,000 more households, then the cost per household should go down, not up.
At present, only 1,000 out of 7,000 American Fork households recycle. Adding 5,000 more households (an arbitrary assumption, but reasonable enough) would raise revenues six-fold, meaning Allied Waste could multiply by six the number of trucks it sends and still not need a higher fee.
I have been told that Orem, when it went city-wide with its recycling program, lowered its per-household fee to $3. But American Fork will not see a lower fee, because the City is under contract to Allied Waste to pay $4.47 per month for each container it empties. So, I asked, thinking about renegotiation, when does the contract expire? Nobody could tell me -- nobody from the City, and nobody from Allied Waste.
The increased fee, it turns out, goes to cover administrative costs on the City side. Which administrative costs those will be is not specified.
Turning my napkin to the other side, I did some more figuring. 6,000 households (my assumed take rate) multiplied by 90 extra cents per household, then by twelve months per year, equals $64,800 -- at least a full-time salary.
Whatever those unspecified administrative costs are, I'm certain they don't require an additional full-time hire. To my eye, this fee is a hidden, mid-year tax increase. This is not something I can vote for, not in uncertain economic times, and not without knowing what the money will be used for.
So I voted nay, but the ordinance passed without me. I hear that some residents have already begun responding to the notice on the Web site by opting out. I believe in recycling and would like to see the program succeed, but I can't fault those who disagree, or who wish to continue recycling through other means without paying $5.40 per month.
For further information on the program, visit the American Fork City Web site. For further explanation of my views on recycling, check out two of my earlier entries here at the blog:
Should American Fork Recycle?
Rethinking Recycling
posted by Heidi Rodeback at 10:57 AM
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