Dexter Township Officials Support Proposed Changes to County Recycling Program

Dexter Township is the latest municipality to express support for the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority’s move toward a simpler single-stream recycling program.

The township's board of trustees unanimously passed a resolution affirming support for the move at their meeting on June 21.

The change is part of the WWRA’s capital improvement plan to help streamline the recycling process for better efficiently, Phil Bolyard, WWRA general manager said.

Currently, residents are required to drop off and sort their recyclables at any of the 54 bins throughout the western part of the county. Single-stream recycling would allow residents to throw all their recycled goods into one bin provided by the WWRA at Dexter Township Hall and would not require sorting.

In addition, board members expressed interest in joining six of the eight member municipalities as full investors in the program once its up and running in July 2012.

Bolyard said the WWRA is asking municipalities to commit to being either an associate member or a full investor by Dec. 1. Associate members, such as Bridgewater Township, would not have a sitting member on the WWRA Board and residents would only be charged the current $26 yearly fee. Full investors would have board representation and would agree to help fund the WWRA’s $3.2 million expansion through authorizing the county to sell bonds and specially assess households.

If the Dexter Township Board of Trustees votes in favor of becoming a full investor, residents could pay approximately $45 per household per year ($26 for operations that will be reviewed and renewed every five years and $19 for bond debt). Bolyard said the bond payment would be set for 15 years but the WWRA expects to have it paid off in 10.

Dexter Township Trustee Jason Maciejewski said beginning in 2013, the $26 operational assessment will start to be reduced for investing member communities only.

"My support of Dexter Township being an investing member of WWRA's single-stream proposal is based on the projection that the operational assessment will be reduced from $26 to near $0 for Dexter Township residents as the bond is paid down," he said.

Bolyard said before the township can commit to either associate or full-member status, it must set two public hearings to allow feedback from the community.

“Once they (the board) signs the agreement, they are locked in for 10 years,” he said.

The township has not scheduled its public hearings as of this posting.

Bolyard said he expects a 30 percent increase in recycling volume with the addition of single-stream system, which he hopes to break ground on by April 2012.

“We’ve seen people spend a half hour sorting through their recyclables at the bins. With single-stream recycling, they can drop it off and be on their way,” he said.

Bolyard said the new system can handle 7-12 tons of material an hour versus the current system’s 2-ton capacity.

"The new system will help collect a lot of material that would otherwise go into a landfill," he said.

For more information, call 734-475-6160.

Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect the correct yearly price for recycling service in the WWRA for associate and investing member municipalities. It also clarifies that Dexter Township will not have curbside recycling as part of the single-stream system.