Since 1987 the Oxford community has used Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. for its solid waste removal and recycling. With city council's unanimous approval at Tuesday's meeting, a new 2-year agreement will be in effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Prior to 1987, Oxford handled its own waste removal and recycling by using the Oxford Landfill. That landfill subsequently was filled to capacity.
"Mount Rumpke," so coined by the Oxford and Miami University communities, has been the destination for most Oxford waste.
"Someday that one will fill to capacity too," Oxford City Councilor Alysia Fischer said.
Oxford City Council aims to prolong Mt. Rumpke's longevity by expanding recycling efforts.
Rumpke has recently built a multi-million dollar building to help with recycling and is currently accepting all types of plastics from No. 1 through 7, as they will from Oxford after the new arrangement begins in January.
However, when Rumpke receives and sorts through these "recyclables," some are making their way into the landfill, and not being recycled, according to Greg Rutherford, councilor and member of the city's environmental commission.
Not all plastics are created equal. For instance, Rumpke will not recycle plastic wrapping for toys clearly labeled No. 1. Due to the different ways in which some plastics are molded, even ones labeled Nos. 1 through 7 may not be recyclable.
"There are some (different types of) plastics - blow-molded, temper-molded," Rutherford said. "It changes the plastics a little bit."
According to City Service Director Mike Dreisbach, the only control Oxford has is the contract the city signs with Rumpke. What Rumpke does with the recyclables when it receives them is an entirely different issue, Dreisbach said.
"The specifications are (that) our contract says they will take Nos. 1 (through) 7," Dreisbach said.
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Councilor Richard Keebler said Rumpke's use of recyclables is out of the city's hands.
"It is in their advantage to use as much as they can," Keebler said.
No other company bid on the contract for trash disposal and recycling.
"I think they are aware of their apparent monopoly on the area," Dreisbach said.
With a 2 percent increase in fees to the city, Dreisbach said he does not feel Rumpke is abusing that knowledge.
A new Pilot Recycling Program initiative Oxford is starting offers city residents the same 65-gallon can they use for trash now for recycling. After visiting Rumpke's landfill site, Fischer said she believes residents should be pushing as much as they can into the recycling bin.
Rutherford and the environmental commission are uncovering how Rumpke could possibly use the Oxford communities' hard work more efficiently.
"I will continue to put my yogurt containers in the recycling bin,"Rutherford said.
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