CROTHERSVILLE
The new year will bring a change in trash and recycling for Crothersville residents.
The town council recently unanimously approved a two-year agreement with Rumpke of Indiana to upgrade to 95-gallon trash and recycling carts.
That will result in bills increasing to $10.51 per month. Residents now pay $9.50 per month, but if they have more than three 30-gallon trash bags, they must go to the town hall to purchase a sticker for 75 cents for each extra bag. For recycling, they use red bins.
Considering the carts will be sturdier and hold more trash and recycling and the town will receive financial support from the Jackson County Recycling District, the five members of the town council agreed that was the best move. Rumpke was the only company to submit a bid to the town.
Chris Pierce, Rumpke’s municipal representative for the town, said each household will receive a 95-gallon trash cart and a 95-gallon recycling cart. It can take four to six weeks to get all of the carts in, and then Rumpke will coordinate a spot to park a trailer in town for a couple of days to deliver the carts to each residence, he said.
“When we deliver these, they will be recorded in a system now, so we’ll have a serial number for all of them,” Pierce said.
If a resident wants an extra cart, they can be leased for $3.50 per month. Payment arrangements on a quarterly or yearly basis can be made, Pierce said.
In 2016, Rumpke provided Crothersville with an option to upgrade to the 95-gallon recycling carts, but that would have made the monthly fee higher. Council members agreed it was best to not go with that option at the time because town property owners’ utility bills were increasing $3 for a new stormwater user fee to help make storm drainage improvements.
The monthly fee for trash and curbside recycling pickup in Crothersville didn’t increase for 2017, but there was a 2 percent increase in the monthly bill this year.
Councilman Lenvel “Butch” Robinson said despite another increase for 2019, the recycling district’s support helped keep the monthly charge lower. It would have been $13.61 if the council wouldn’t have agreed to switch to the carts.
He also said the carts should increase recycling. Pierce said he has seen that in other communities.
In 2016, the monthly charge for trash and recycling in Brownstown increased from $11.35 to $12.55 when the town upgraded to 95-gallon recycling carts for residents.
Between September and December of that year, Clerk-Treasurer David Willey reported a 33 percent increase in the number of residents recycling. He said more people were recycling because the larger cart, which has a lid, is easier to move and more appealing to residents.
Debbie Hackman, director of the Jackson County Solid Waste Management District, which does business as the Jackson County Recycling District, said Brownstown officials like the way their town looks with the carts instead of having trash cans and bags along the streets on pickup days.
“It improves the look of the town as well as makes it more convenient for folks that want to recycle,” she said.
Robinson said Crothersville has had issues with animals getting into trash bags and making a mess in the streets, and council President Danieta Foster said recycled items often blow out of the open-top bins when it’s windy outside.
Those reasons also are why the council agreed the carts will be better.
Pierce said Rumpke is responsible for maintaining the carts.
“The one thing about ours is they are a more commercial container, too, so they hold up a lot better,” he said.
The town’s agreement with Rumpke is good through Dec. 31, 2020. Crothersville has contracted with Rumpke for trash pickup for at least 20 years and recycling pickup for about eight years.