DeKalb could take a big step this month toward its goal of becoming the region’s most environmentally minded county — and save itself and residents some cash in doing so.
At issue is a proposal to lift the $30 subscription fee DeKalb now charges residents for an 18-gallon bin and 100 bags for recyclable materials. Eliminating that cost should remove a barrier to residents considering recycling. If more people recycle, that will free up space at the county-owned landfill and help keep down the overall rates for curbside pickup.
“The revenue we get from more volume [recycled] offsets anything we lose from the fee,” said Billy Malone, DeKalb’s assistant director of public works.
DeKalb residents pay the lowest fee in metro Atlanta for curbside service, which in addition to the optional recycling subscription includes trash pickup twice a week and collection of yard waste once a week. For that, with no limit on how much can be set out, residential properties pay a $265 annual fee, separate from property taxes.
Residents in neighboring Gwinnett pay $218 per year for up to 96 gallons of trash collected once a week, plus an additional $120 annually for weekly pickup of as much as 12 bags of yard waste. The recycling fee is embedded in the annual costs there, with about 12 percent of waste being recycled, said Tom Keith, the county’s solid waste director.
Atlanta, which also limits pickup to 96 gallons, charges $395 for its once-a-week service and yard waste collection. Recycling costs an additional $88 a year.
Still, Atlanta is closer to the national average recycling participation rate, at 37 percent, said Dexter C. White, the deputy commissioner of public works.
DeKalb has a 21 percent participation rate. When the program started in 2005, the county imposed a fee to avoid the impression that all residents were subsidizing recycling, but participation has stalled for several years.
That’s a problem for county leaders, who like to tout DeKalb as the greenest urban county in the nation. Malone has pledged to double the rate in four years if the fees go away.
“I think people want to recycle,” County Commissioner Jeff Rader said. “If we give people the means to be able to do that, I think we’ll get participation broadly across the county.”
Diverting more household trash means less garbage in the Seminole Road landfill. The site has another 70 years of life expectancy, 16 years of which comes from the existing recycling.
Curbside pickup rates, which last went up in 2006, likely will need to go up in the near future, officials say. But extending the life of the landfill will save the county money from having to haul its waste away, a driving force behind higher costs in other jurisdictions, said Ted Rhinehart, the county’s infrastructure head.
Because of those long-term savings and ability of residents to opt-in, the county’s focus on recycling has attracted support.
“With the economy the way it is, they are talking about giving a service for free,” said Michelle Wiseman, a Tucker resident who serves as the president of Keep DeKalb Beautiful. “It’s saving money and saving resources. How can you be against that?”
The final say belongs to the County Commission, which is expected to take up the issue at its Sept. 25 meeting.
About the Author
