MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council members gave a second reading on Monday to legislation tightening the waste hauling and recycling requirements in the city.
Key changes from the current code (Chapter 755) include stricter reporting requirements and the requirement for a separate recycling permit, in addition to the waste hauler license.
The ordinance also moves oversight of the haulers to a Department of Code Enforcement.
Currently, the safety-service director and the mayor issue the permits. The Mount Vernon Police Department inspects the trucks, issues permits, and maintains records.
City Inspector Scott Zimmerman said moving oversight to the Code Enforcement Department streamlines the process by putting everything in one place.
Legislation creating the Department of Code Enforcement is pending before the council.
“We talked to DKMM about best practices that they have seen. They recommended this and support this as well, particularly the recycling portion,” Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers said of the revised ordinance.
“It is important that at the same time that we pass the waste haulers legislation that we create the Department of Code Enforcement. This is all under the assumption that there would be a code enforcement department.”
The proposed changes make spills or damage a separate violation unrelated to licenses or permits. The hauler is responsible for cleanup, repair, and administrative costs incurred by the city.
Littering by a waste hauler is an individual offense under the city’s litter control ordinances.
“We have had instances of blowing debris from haulers in the city that aren’t securely hauling their waste,” Salyers said.
“We want to make sure … it’s not just a bunch of legalese on paper for us to look at. If you’re a citizen or if you’re a waste hauler, you can crack into the legislation and just see what we’re working with.”
New waste hauling regulations ensure proper disposal of recyclables
One goal of revising the ordinance is ensuring that haulers properly dispose of recyclables.
Under the current code, haulers are required to file a semiannual report showing the tonnage of solid waste and recyclables collected in the city.
However, many do not.
The tightened requirements spell out the information haulers must report:
•Total volume and weight of solid waste collected and disposed of
•Total volume and weight of recyclable materials collected
•Names and physical addresses of all approved disposal and recycling facilities used (must be separate and appropriate for each waste stream)
•Fleet summary including number and description of trucks in active operation and documentation of spills, littering, or noncompliance incidents and corrective action taken
Salyers cited the example of a waste hauler operating in the city with which the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and DKMM (Delaware-Knox-Marion-Morrow Solid Waste District) are having issues.
“Basically, this waste hauler is taking your trash, and they’re going to another county, and they’re dropping it on the ground and lighting it on fire. They’re keeping your rates exceptionally low by lighting it on fire and not having to pay at a transfer station,” he said.
Documenting the drop-off facility helps illuminate illegal activity.
“We do not want to do business with somebody that’s doing an illegal activity … that’s not fair to company Y and Z who’s trying to play by the rules,” Salyers said.
Haulers cannot dispose of recyclables in county Dumpsters.
“You have to take them to a waste station because the formula that we’re reimbursed and that we get grant money from through DKMM comes through those tonnage reports,” Mayor Matt Starr said.
The city uses money from the tipping fees on recycling programs such as Tire Take Back and Cleanup days.
Putting checks on waste haulers
Salyers said the information the city is requesting should be information that waste haulers should be accumulating for EPA or DKMM reports.
“I think that what this [ordinance] does is it just puts checks on what they should be doing,” Council member Amber Keener said.
Neither the current code nor the revised ordinance regulates commercial establishments. Multi-family units are considered commercial.
However, Starr said the city has discussed with developers the idea of implementing on-site recycling for developments.
“It would be nice if the commercial entities did like an opt-in program or did something that would handle recycling,” he said.
“In this legislation, as we’ve done with the other pieces of legislation, we’re providing more clarity. You’re only as good as the amount of information that you’re giving out to the people.”
tanner salyers, mount vernon safety-service director
Council President Bruce Hawkins asked about involving the haulers in the discussion.
Salyers responded that no haulers attended the utility commission’s meetings as it worked through the draft legislation over the past few months.
Additionally, Starr noted that the city and DKMM met with the haulers about a year ago and discussed many of the proposed changes.
“You’ve got a handful of people that are trying to game the system and undercut the rest of them,” Salyers said.
“If I were in this business, I would think that I would want some more clarified rules that we could all abide by, and the guys that aren’t following the rules would suffer the consequences. Because these are not radically different than the rules that are on our books right now.”
The ordinance is up for its third reading at the July 28 council meeting.
