Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – City council will revisit the idea of city-wide garbage collection service after a meeting of the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday.
Julie Strawser, first ward council member, renewed discussion of the plan that was voted down by council in 2013 after more than a year of planning.
Strawser said she supports a single city-wide trash hauler for aesthetic reasons, because it would keep garbage off the curbs on multiple days a week and improve the appearance of the city. More importantly, though, she said it would limit heavy truck traffic on city streets, ultimately saving the city and its taxpayers money on street repairs and improvements.
No decision was made at Tuesday’s meeting, but council members will be reviewing documentation from the 2013 process and will likely discuss it again at the next meeting of the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee.
The original process began in January of 2012 and included public input, a survey of community citizens and a potential contract going out for bid.
Five companies submitted proposals during the bidding process, with Big O Refuse entering the lowest bid. The original proposal was for one-day pickup of all residential trash in the city by the single hauler, but residents would be permitted to maintain their services with small, independent haulers by filing a formal exemption request with the city.
The proposal also excluded pickup of commercial and industrial customers, as well as apartment complexes, condominiums and mobile home parks.
Opponents of the move to a single trash hauler cited a variety of reasons for their opposition, some of which Mayor Don McIlroy listed at Tuesday’s committee meeting. They included concern for the “little guy” (independent haulers); the right to choose; alley pickup; higher prices; and “it’s not the city’s business” how residents opt to dispose of their garbage.
The proposed ordinance was tabled in the summer of 2013 and was ultimately voted down by council by the end of that year.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
