Trustees Talk Trash and Wonder: Should We Dump the Dump Card?

The Oakland Township Board of Trustees talked trash about its waste hauler at Tuesday’s meeting and will consider changes to curb the costs of garbage collection.

Trustee Kathrine Thomas has been researching the soaring costs of trash collection since she noticed a significant increase in bills to Waste Management during the first few months of the year.

“What we’re doing right now is escalating exponentially, and we don’t know where it’s going to end up,” Thomas said in her presentation to the board.

The township has three-year contracts with Waste Management to collect trash at , the on Rochester Road and the . In addition, the company collects recycling from two bins at the Township Hall.

While she did not have exact figures on the total cost to the township, Thomas noted that costs have significantly jumped this year, compared with modest increases between 2005 and 2010. After meeting with Waste Management officials, she learned that despite the contracts, the company is able to increase costs through fuel or environmental surcharges, she said.

Waste Management offered the township a five-year contract with fixed costs, but the savings would not be significant, she told the board. Before making any changes, the trustees agreed to seek bids and compare services and prices from other trash haulers.

Dump the dump card?

Waste Management is not the only stinky issue in the township.

The township also pays a portion of the fee for trash that residents take to Eagle Valley Landfill in Orion Township. For many years, the township has issued "dump cards" that residents use when they drop off their trash at the landfill. With one of these cards, the resident pays half the price, and the township pays the remaining half.

But the township has no record of how many of these cards have been issued or when. Therefore, there is no way to track whether the cards are being used by current residents.

One alternative the township can consider is discontinuing the dump card program, since many residents now have their own individual trash haulers that collect bulk items, Thomas said.

Dennis Murray, 69, of Dutton Road agreed with that change.

“We’re trying to get Oakland Township to reduce their costs,” he said. “You should be paying for the service, not me,” he added, referring to residents who are using the landfill rather than hiring individual haulers.

Jayson Corey, 62, of Pine Tree Lane disagreed.

“I appreciate the dump card, and I use it,” he said. “I think it’s a benefit of living here. … I’d hate to see it be sacrificed.”

Finally, Thomas suggested a way to reduce the costs of the recycling bins, which often are overflowing. The township could issue a notice to residents encouraging them to use the recycling services offered by their private haulers, she said. Furthermore, the board could consider an ordinance that would require residents to choose haulers that provide recycling services.

Lost Lake changes

In other news, the board approved a project agreement with the state of Michigan for the . The township Parks and Recreation Department will make major improvements to Lost Lake Park including a dock, parking lot and entrance, walkways, native plantings and the conversion of the caretaker’s house to a nature center.

The Michigan Resources Trust Fund will provide $150,000 toward the two-year project, and the township will contribute  $100,000.