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PI County returns to recycling program schedule

ROGERS CITY — Presque Isle County’s recycling program has returned to its regular schedule.

The county had been limiting the pick-ups of recyclables to every other week, according to Commissioner Mike Darga, but has returned to a schedule where cardboard and plastics are each picked up once a week.

When the commodities market for recycled cardboard dropped to $50 a ton last year, the county stopped getting the refund it routinely received from Emmet County Recycling, per the county’s contract with them.

The cost of the county’s recycling program increased and the county was forced to offset the cost with money from its general fund. County Clerk Ann Marie Main said the county’s current deficit is $53,000.

Darga said that limiting the pick-ups to every other week since January ended up saving the county about $7,000. He said he wanted to be able to continue the limited pick-ups until April but it became too messy for some of the drop off locations, including those in North Allis Township, Rogers City and Hawks.

“People could see the dumpsters were full but they didn’t care, they just put it outside and made a mess, and in the meantime people thought it was garbage so they started dumping garbage,” he said. “You can’t really take it out on the taxpayers, they’re paying for recycling and want to recycle.”

Taxpayers in Presque Isle County originally approved of a recycling millage in 2014 and approved of a millage increase in November. Although the millage increase was supposed to cover the costs of the county’s recycling program, Darga said the loss of its refund meant the program ended up costing the county more than planned.

In addition to reinstating the regular pick up dates for its recycling program, county commissioners updated its agreement with Emmet County Recycling.

According to the agreement, the county will continue to pay Emmet County Recycling the rate of $8.50 per loose cubic yard for mixed containers but its cost for mixed fiber, which includes cardboard, decreases slightly. The county will now pay $6.75 per loose cubic yard for mixed fiber, 25 cents less than it previously paid.

Darga said that under the new agreement Emmet County Recycling will now receive a refund when cardboard market rates are at $50 per ton and will receive a 70 percent refund when cardboard market rates get to $75 per ton.

“And if it goes over $100 per ton, we get everything back,” he said. “Whatever we haul to Emmet County then, if it goes over $100 a ton, they totally give us all of the money back.”

He said the contract was retroactive to January of this year.

The contract also increases the penalty for a contaminated load to $16 from $12 per cubic yard. The contract states a contaminated load contains 8 percent or more of non-recyclable materials. Darga said the county has never had a contaminated load.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

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