Recycle Ann Arbor to begin charging $3 at Drop-Off Station
Recycle Ann Arbor will begin charging a $3 per vehicle fee for those entering the Drop-Off Station at beginning of next year, the non-profit organization announced Monday.
The fee is necessary to continue the operations after Washtenaw County, the city of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township officials decided not to renew funding support at the end of this year. A previous contract between the 3 municipalities and Recycle Ann Arbor provided $87,500, said Recycle Ann Arbor Chief Executive Officer Melinda Uerling.
The Drop-Off Station, located on 2950 East Ellsworth, currently accepts paper, corrugated cardboard, mixed containers like glass jars and miscellaneous items like household batteries and plastic grocery bags for no fee.
Those who visit the Drop-Off Station for compost or mulch purchases will not be charged.
The station will offer 2 discount options, including a punch card for 10 visits that will cost $25 and a punch card for unlimited visits for $75 that will also offer a 5 percent discount off trash disposal service. There will still be a charge for recycling items like car tires or fluorescent light bulbs.
With the loss of municipal funding and with a decline in market values for recylables, it became impossible to avoid charging some sort of fee for recycling, Uerling said.
"Some people will likely find it's a change that's difficult to manage," Uerling said. The hope is regular users will receive the change with understanding that "without it, we cannot continue to operate this service," she said.
Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.
Comments
cd_booth
Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 10:16 a.m.
@ Captain Magnificent: Your children and their children not being able to live on an Earth that was destroyed by its inhabitants, priceless!
Captain Magnificent
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 6:14 p.m.
$3 to recycle $0 to throw it away Not being on earth long enough for it to matter that I don't recycle? PRICELESS!
63Townie
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 12:34 p.m.
Kevin B., thanks for the link to the story on single-stream recycling. In it was this sentence: "To give people an added incentive to recycle, the new automated carts would be equipped with RFID tags, so that the frequency of each households recycling efforts could be measured and rewarded through RecycleBank." If people are motivated enough to use their recycling bins frequently, and if there's a method to track usage, why not waive the $3.00 fee at the drop-off station for the frequent curbside users?
foobar417
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 11:13 a.m.
It may be a token amount, but it's still nuts. Recycling should be free (or at least cost significantly less than trash). Trash should cost money. Otherwise, you're incentivizing people to fill up the landfills or dump their problems on other people, not recycle. Even if recycling is not making much money these days, it's still better than the true cost of building landfills.
Resident Tourist
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 9:42 a.m.
I miss the trash system where I used to live: get charged by the size of trash bin you have and get a huge recycling bin for free. Everyone's trash bins were smaller than their recycling bin.
81wolverine
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 9:38 a.m.
It's too bad they have to charge a fee. This will be a disincentive for people to recycle in some cases, resulting in more trash going into the landfill. Lines to pay at the recycling center will also discourage people. If the price of recycled materials the city receives goes up in the future, I'd hope the fee could be eliminated. But, a fat chance that will happen. Add this fee to the long list of "nickle and diming" of the average person we're all seeing.
bunnyabbot
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 12:14 a.m.
or you can take your bags of garbage and your recyclables to your relatives house in another town, which has less curby rules than A2 does and have them put it out on thier curb for garbage day. Do this on your normal visit, so you aren't using extra gas. Problem solved.
Kevin Bolon
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 10:04 p.m.
Trash trucks that come to our homes once a week will take away an unlimited amount of trash at no extra fee, and dump it in a landfill. But if we use our own vehicle to deliver recyclables to the Drop-Off Station, we're charged extra. What kind of incentive system is this? No matter how low the market value of recycled materials is, it isn't negative (which is the value of sending trucks to deliver our trash to a landfill.) When it comes to trash, I agree with Tom Bower, above. "People who use it should pay for it." If residents payed a fee based on how much trash they threw away (pay-as-you-throw), we wouldn't need to cut valuable services like the Drop-Off Station.
Kevin Bolon
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 9:44 p.m.
@Joe Hood: "...a plan to convert to a single container for recyclables... would mean no more curbside collection of batteries, motor oil, or oil filters." http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/10/13/work-session-trains-trash-and-taxes/
Joe Hood
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 9:27 p.m.
@John Hritz: batteries can be placed in clear plastic bags curbside for recycling in the city.
lummox
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 9:17 p.m.
Read the last sentence again and ask yourself, is this the hope and change you've been waiting for?
Mary Remmers
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 9:06 p.m.
Look for more trash at a roadside near you.
ken
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 7:51 p.m.
maybee now that they are charging for drop offs, they can purchase thier own equipment, instead of the tax payers of the City of Ann Arbor paying for thier business... the City buys all the trucks, and supposedly leases them to R.A.A. even the city employees repair and maintain the trucks, they even use the fuel pumps at the Wheeler center for fuel, maybee the city is footin the tab for that too.....
John Hritz
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 7:15 p.m.
Welcome to OZ. The same source that wants us to go to a no-sort recycling process (http://www.annarbor.com/news/city-council-considers-single-stream-recycling-proposal-monday-evening/index.php) that includes a points-based system based on weight is willing to induce people to throw batteries and styrofoam in the trash to avoid a $3 charge and a line at the booth. I should never have taken basic economics (or psychology).
pfunkyfize
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 7:06 p.m.
uh-oh... need to drop off stuff in a hurry...
johnnya2
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 6:51 p.m.
I guess if we take Tom Bowers logic, I do not want to pay for police, fire,or the school system. If you want a street plowed or paved, you should be forced to pay for just the portion you utilize. I never drive on many streets, so they don't need to be plowed, or kept up. In my entire life, I have never called the fire department, the police, and I do not use the AAPS. In fact, I havenot used the prison system, or mental health facilities, or 100's of other state and city services. The reason for a robust free recycling is the betterment of the world. If people are charged they will dump motor oil in your water. They will dispose of electronics in their garbage or that of a business. More people should be encouraged to take mass transit because it helps businesses in many areas attract employees, more shoppers, and allows the poorest and weakest of the society the opportunity to have a chance.
Craig Lounsbury
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 6:41 p.m.
"Sure hope County voters don't approve a mass transit tax to support AATA. Let the riders who use it pay for it." Kind of like people who fly pay for airports? Or people in major cities pay for subways or commuter trains? Some sort of tax payer subsidized mass transit is part of a civilized functional society.
David
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 6:14 p.m.
What a killing they can make now. Charge to take the junk and then send it all to a land fill. If you have to pay somebody to take it, why is it recycling? Do manufacturers have to be paid to take other raw materials?
Tom Bower
Mon, Dec 14, 2009 : 5:24 p.m.
Sounds reasonable. People who use it should pay for it. Sure hope County voters don't approve a mass transit tax to support AATA. Let the riders who use it pay for it.