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Board Chairman Chris Dockery said he’s not in favor of suspending the recycling program, even though it has proved costly over the years.
Lumpkin County’s recycling program could be on the chopping block as officials are looking for ways to save money in an uncertain coronavirus-impacted economic environment.
“If the economy gets bad, recycling is a good place to start to reduce expenses,” said Public Works Director Larry Reiter. “We may have to rely on other counties for our recycling. People can always go to Hall County.”
Board Chairman Chris Dockery said he’s not in favor of suspending the program, even though it has proved costly over the years.
“I can’t see abandoning the program entirely,” he said. “I think recycling is the right thing to do. But it is concerning that it is becoming more and more subsidized with taxpayer dollars.”
REVENUE SHORTFALL
The county withdrew from the North Georgia Waste Management Authority about eight months ago.
“The program cost $120,000 annually to operate and generated approximately $10,650 annually in revenue from material sales,” County Manager Stan Kelley said.
The process being used was labor intensive, Kelley said, and both the truck used to pick up materials and new bins were due for replacement should the program continue.
The Board of Commissioners voted in favor of hauling most of the county’s recyclables to Hall County.
The county is storing aluminum at its own facility until the price goes up.
Paper products, tin cans and plastic all go to Hall County, but Lumpkin receives no revenue for these items. The only revenue source is from cardboard.
The new agreement with Hall County required an upfront investment of $42,312 for six new and larger bins. A truck from the county’s fleet is used to haul materials to Hall County.
The new system cut the cost of recycling from $120,000 to a budgeted $94,000 for this year. However, the revenue falls far short of what was expected.
“Our revenue thus far is $230,” Kelley said.
CARDBOARD CONTAMINATION
Part of the reason is that the amount the new bins can hold is less than anticipated. Additionally, people are recycling more so more trips to Hall County have to be made. Another reason is that people are not recycling properly. Lastly, the price of cardboard is down considerably.
Reiter said the bins are not getting as much tonnage as his research originally indicated.
“What I was looking at is the tonnage of cardboard that has been broken down and laid flat. That’s not happening,” he said. “People are just throwing empty boxes in there.”
And that’s not all that makes its way into the cardboard bin.
“People are also throwing cereal boxes and drink boxes in there. That’s not corrugated cardboard, that’s paperboard, and it contaminates the load,” Reiter said.
“Revenue is less than 10 percent of what was projected due to the material being contaminated,” Kelley said. “This contaminated cardboard is classified as mixed fiber which the county receives no revenue for.”
“When cardboard was selling for $95 a ton in 2018 a few paper board boxes wasn’t a problem. Now that more cardboard is being recycled and the price has dropped to $42 and some odd cents a load, buyers are more picky,” Reiter added.
There is also the increase in the number of trips to consider, Kelley said.
“The amount of materials has increased by 40 percent over the average annual tonnage for the last five years—from 175 tons per year to 245. These projections are based on the first four months of 2020, which is not the peak recycling season. This results in more trips to Hall County which has increased operational costs and reduced efficiency,” he said.
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Kelley presented three options to the BOC for their consideration—maintain the current program, spend an additional $75,000 on a shredder/compactor and additional bins upfront to realize a savings in coming years, or suspend the program entirely.
Maintaining the program would likely increase the amount allocated in the budget as peak recycling season comes, but would not significantly raise the cost of the program.
Option #2, Kelley said, comes with an upfront cost that would not be realized for five-plus years.
“It will take about 70 months to break even on the cost of the new equipment. Based on the information received from the proposed equipment manufacturer, this equipment will reduce the number of cardboard loads hauled to Hall County by a factor of up to 20 to one. Also, the material will be sorted as it is put into the compactor which will result in clean materials which will generate revenue for the county,” he said.
“We will save money by changing the system,” Reiter said. “The problem I see is that while we have the opportunity to save, there is an upfront expense and an unsure economic future. I am not just talking about the local economy. How will the industry respond? I don’t want to spend $60,000 or $70,000 on a shredder/compactor that won’t pay for itself for five-plus years when we don’t know what the recycling industry is going to look like in five years. That’s a lot of taxpayer money.”
Which brings it down to the third option—suspending the program altogether.
Dockery said the county needs to look at all options.
“We have to look at possible solutions that will allow people to continue to recycle without putting the burden on taxpayers,” he said.
He suggested speaking with Mark Robinson Hauling, the company runs the county’s transfer station.
Those talks have already begun, Kelley said.
“We are trying to develop the best solution for everyone regarding the future recycling program in Lumpkin County. I hope to have a proposal from [Robinson] next week. Once we have a proposal, we’ll evaluate it and determine if it will meet our recycling needs. If we think it is a reasonable and workable option, I’ll present it to the BOC for consideration,” Kelley said. “In the meantime, we’ll continue providing the service in its current configuration.”
The issue will most likely be on the next BOC work session agenda June 2, 4 p.m. in the upstairs Boardroom at the Administration Building.