BUCYRUS—Blake Austin, the Municipal and Public Sector Specialist, made a presentation before the members of the Service Committee at Bucyrus City Council on Thursday evening.
Rumpke is a private hauler for trash and recycling services.
Austin made a pitch to council to take over trash and recycling services for the city. Rumpke currently manages the Crawford County Landfill and run 30 trucks out of there daily.
Although Austin provided no projections of the cost to citizens in his presentation, he did point out the mutual benefits for Rumpke and Bucyrus.
If the city enters into a contract with Bucyrus, Austin said each customer would receive one trash can and one recycling can. Under Rumpke’s contract with the city, Bucyrians could leave their recyclables out with their trash for pickup weekly. Customers can leave out large items at the curb for an additional fee as well.
With Rumpke’s one system of recycling, customers would not have to sort their recyclables or transport them to a bin.
Customers will also be able to recycle glass.
Austin told council Rumpke is dedicated to expanding recyclables and educating the public. He told council if customers had the convenience of curbside pickup and didn’t need to sort materials, then more people would start to recycle.
Rumpke recycles about a billion pounds annually with an average repurposing time of two weeks.
Rumpke would also handle all customer service issues. Austin told council Rumpke would entertain purchasing their current trash equipment, including trucks.
Crawford County Now will continue to cover this developing story.