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ALPENA — Rising prices have forced the Alpena Resource Recovery Facility intergovernmental recycling board to tweak the way it empties recycling bins and transfers commodities to the recycling center.

Earlier this year, the board decided to purchase its own truck to empty bins and make the trip back to the center for processing.

Board member Cindy Johnson said the purchase of the used truck was needed because bids from local haulers were much higher than in years past.

Johnson said last year, it cost about $110,000 to have the bins emptied and the materials moved, but the lowest bid this year was doubled and more than the budget allowed. She said the recycling budget is about $400,000 a year, of which $304,000 comes from the county-wide $20 recycling surcharge.

She said it is important to be responsible with taxpayers’ money, so the board agreed to move in a new direction and try to move the materials themselves.

“At that price, it would have been impossible to make ends meet,” Johnson said. “After the bids came in, we called them and asked if they could sharpen their pencils a little to see if we could get a better rate, but it was still too high.”

Unlike larger hauling companies with a fleet of trucks, the recycling board knew it would still need some help because it only has one truck. It signed a six-month contract with Silver Streak Trucking to assist for a while. Silver Streak helps haul bins with one of its trucks, which provides insurance should the Resource Recovery truck be out for maintenance or overwhelmed with transports.

Johnson said the contract with Silver Streak is for $65,000 and that still may push the hauling expense over budget this year, but she believes next year, hauling costs will stabilize and be reduced.

“Right now, it is a learning churn for us, but we are closely watching our budget,” she said. “We’re still hoping to stay close to what we spent last year but we should see savings from doing it ourselves next year.”

Resource Recovery has received a $1 million grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and a brunt of the money is earmarked to go toward the cost of a new recycling center on M-32. Johnson said a small portion of the money can be used for other expenses, and the board is considering purchasing a newer truck later this year.

She said adding vehicles and getting the new recycling center are important steps in achieving the long-term goals of the recycling program.

She said more people in Alpena are recycling, which also increases the need for new assets.

“It really bodes well for the program,” Johnson said.