Managing solid waste is activity that requires thoughtful planning

The subject of how people dispose of items they no longer want or need might seem like pure rubbish to some folks.

But it’s actually a topic that requires careful planning and consideration. We were reminded of that reality after learning that Richmond Heights City Council recently approved a resolution to adopt the Solid Waste Plan for the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste Management District.

The resolution agrees to the district’s Master Plan that will run from 2026 until 2040 — if approved by other municipalities, The News-Herald’s Frank Mecham reported. It also includes a “generation fee” of $2 per ton of waste, a price point that is lower than the $4.74 per ton average statewide fee, according to the district.

The 14-year Waste Management Plan is a guideline developed in conjunction with 58 other local municipalities and will be a way to track goals and develop new education programs, according to Elizabeth Biggins-Ramer, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District.

“We started this process way back in the end of 2023,” Biggins-Ramer said to council. “And we have reached out to our service directors, school educators, as well as our friends in the private sector, those are our businesses, our solid waste private partners, to say, ‘What is it that we offer as a Solid Waste District that you like?’ What would you like to see us offer or change?’ And we took all of that into consideration in developing this master plan.”

Biggins-Ramer, who gave a short presentation to council before they voted on the resolution, touched on services that the district provides, including locations to drop off tires, CDs, political campaign signs and other waste residents might not give a second thought about before tossing in the trash.

She said they are updating some programs that they offer, and plan on analyzing trends of how people dispose of textiles.

“By statute, it’s basically, it’s a master plan, (we determine) how we can encourage the communities in our jurisdiction … trying to help them reduce, reuse, recycle, compost and reduce their reliance on landfills,” Biggins-Ramer said. “The new programs that we are going to be doing is looking to expand the number of hard to recycle items such as lithium-ion batteries, which can cause fire in collection trucks, as well as hopefully we will be doing more with yard waste and organics.

“We also hope to conduct a textile analysis. When we did all the data crunching we realized that’s becoming a larger portion of what is being disposed, and we want to get our hands around how we can maybe divert some of that.”

She said that in addition to new recycling and education programs, they are trying to increase the number of crews that directly collect waste on public rights of way.

“We currently sponsor two crews; we want to sponsor a third if this plan is passed. And they actually go out with a rotating schedule to all 59 communities and they will collect things that are illegally dumped or litter on any of the public rights of ways and communities,” Biggins-Ramer said. “So, they come through each community at least twice a year and will hit all of your rights of way in collecting those materials.

“As part of this new plan, we would like to add a third crew, because one of the things we’ve heard is that we don’t have crews out there in communities often enough. And secondly developing kind of a hotline, where if you’ve got a hot-spot that needs to be addressed, you can contact them directly and they can respond more nimbly to your request.”

The Solid Waste District’s vestibule, 4750 E. 131st St., Garfield. Heights, is open seasonally from March through October on the second Saturday. During that time, Cuyahoga County residents can turn in hard-to-recycle items such as computers and electronics, CDs and cases, holiday lights, PakTech rings and handles, and VHS tapes, among other items, according to the district.

Biggins-Ramer’s presentation to Richmond Heights City Council illustrated why it’s important for all county solid waste districts develop strategies to educate people about recycling in hopes of reducing the amount of trash deposited in landfills.

In addition, it’s a wise idea for counties to offer programs that accept tires and other hard-to-recycle items, so people don’t discard these items illegally in their communities.

In conclusion, we believe Richmond Heights council made a good choice to approve a resolution to adopt the Solid Waste Plan for the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste Management District.

We realize that other municipalities need to pass similar resolutions similar to the measure authorized by Richmond Heights council.

It will be interesting to see if the final countywide plan is adopted. Clearly, solid waste management in any region is a matter that deserves serious consideration.