City may change yard waste program

Willoughby Hills officials are considering a change in the city’s yard waste program.

An ordinance for the proposed changes is on the agenda for the Feb. 27 city council meeting where it will undergo its first of three readings.

“(Republic Services) takes care of our trash and recycle, and every April our contract renews,” said Gloria Majeski, executive assistant to the mayor. “So we can look at it every April to see if we want to make any changes.”

The proposal includes yard waste in the contract, which would be picked up at residents’ homes from April 1 through Nov. 30.

Yard waste pickup would include grass clippings, leaves and branches.

“Branches can be put in your recyclable brown bags where you’re going to be putting in your leaves or they can be tied and bundled in three-foot lengths,” Majeski said.

She explained that under the contract, the amount of yard waste picked up will be unlimited if it is in the recyclable bags or bundled.

The cost for pickup would be an additional $2.33 per month, billed from January through December.

“To put the price in perspective, households will pay $28 per year for unlimited yard waste picked up at their residence and Green Vision costs $20 per load, regardless of how much yard waste residents drop off,” Majeski said.

If approved, Majeski said the Republic Services price will be fixed for the next three years with increases of 10 cents per month in the fourth and fifth years of the contract.

Residents who use the yellow bag option will not be eligible for yard waste benefits and all households receiving full service from Republic will be charged the fee, according to Majeski.

“They can’t pick and choose who gets it,” Majeski said. “It’s across the board so everybody is going to pay for it.”

In addition to the contract with Republic Services, Majeski said the city would pay $7,300 to Green Vision Materials, their recycle vendor, in 2020. This would cover the leaf pickup program and the city would institute tree trimming services in all-right-of-ways.

Majeski said the decision to look at this addition to the contract was done in an effort to assess how residents used the city’s brush pile and to stop illegal dumping of debris.

“The research actually showed that there were only 123 residents that actually use the brush pile and $16,700 was spent in service department overtime, along with additional money spent to transport the brush to Green Vision,” Majeski said.

She encouraged those with additional questions or concerns to contact the mayor’s office at 440-9188730.

“If the residents want to have any input or have any questions, we are certainly open to that, but we feel very comfortable with this proposal,” Majeski said.