Montville gets $250,000 EPA grant
Will help launch new trash, recycling programs
Medina County Solid Waste Coordinator Beth Biggins-Ramer is helping Montville Township officials organize a new trash disposal and recycling program. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
MONTVILLE – Township officials learned they have been approved for a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to improve trash collection and expand recycling programs.
Township trustees are expected to use the money to purchase curbside recycling carts and contract with a single hauler to provide more efficient trash disposal and recycling operations for the townships 4,000 homes and apartments.
Details of exactly how the program will work and how much it will cost are still to be determined, according to Beth Biggins-Ramer, the coordinator of the Medina County Solid Waste District who helped township officials write the grant application.
Those details will be spelled out in the bid specifications which Biggins-Ramer and township officials write in an effort to find a hauler who will offer township residents the best deal on the new trash and curbside recycling options.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the township,” said Biggins-Ramer. “It was a very competitive bid process and Montville is fortunate to have had its application approved.” She said only about half the 140 applications from townships and cities around the state were approved for community development grants offered by the EPA this year.
The approval of the Montville grant application came just in time for the Earth Day celebrations held in Medina County and around the state. Although Montville officials did not learn they had been approved for funding until April 20, they had been preparing for the possibility.
Biggins-Ramer said township officials had formed a citizen’s committee to discuss possible program details if Montville did indeed receive approval for its grant application. Members of that committee represent various parts of the township’s diverse nature.
“Montville has been very proactive,” Biggins-Ramer said. “They’ve been meeting with folks who represent a varied community that include suburban areas, rural areas, big families and retires,” she said.
The response to the diverse needs of different neighborhoods is expected to be trash and recycling programs with multiple service options. Those service levels will be spelled out in the bid specifications which township officials hope to announce in coming weeks.
“We expect some people will be able to contract to have a small volume of trash picked up at a minimal cost and others will be able to contract for higher volumes and bulk items like mattresses whenever they need it,” Biggins-Ramer said.
If plans proceed as hoped, the bid can be awarded to a single hauler this summer and the new service can go into effect before the end of the year.
Biggins-Ramer said similar trash and curbside recycling programs are in place in other northeast Ohio communities that are about the same size as Montville. Residential customers in those towns pay $15-$18 per month for trash and recycling pickup. Montville residents now pay nearly double that in some parts of the township.
Biggins-Ramer said a new trash and recycling policy offers other benefits to the township. Among them are reducing the number of days trash is placed in front of houses each week and limiting the number of trucks that come down a street each week.
The current situation allows residents to contract with any refuse hauler they choose and at least five different companies now make weekly trips through the township picking up garbage and recyclables.
Township trustees are expected to use the money to purchase curbside recycling carts and contract with a single hauler to provide more efficient trash disposal and recycling operations for the townships 4,000 homes and apartments.
Details of exactly how the program will work and how much it will cost are still to be determined, according to Beth Biggins-Ramer, the coordinator of the Medina County Solid Waste District who helped township officials write the grant application.
Those details will be spelled out in the bid specifications which Biggins-Ramer and township officials write in an effort to find a hauler who will offer township residents the best deal on the new trash and curbside recycling options.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the township,” said Biggins-Ramer. “It was a very competitive bid process and Montville is fortunate to have had its application approved.” She said only about half the 140 applications from townships and cities around the state were approved for community development grants offered by the EPA this year.
The approval of the Montville grant application came just in time for the Earth Day celebrations held in Medina County and around the state. Although Montville officials did not learn they had been approved for funding until April 20, they had been preparing for the possibility.
Biggins-Ramer said township officials had formed a citizen’s committee to discuss possible program details if Montville did indeed receive approval for its grant application. Members of that committee represent various parts of the township’s diverse nature.
“Montville has been very proactive,” Biggins-Ramer said. “They’ve been meeting with folks who represent a varied community that include suburban areas, rural areas, big families and retires,” she said.
The response to the diverse needs of different neighborhoods is expected to be trash and recycling programs with multiple service options. Those service levels will be spelled out in the bid specifications which township officials hope to announce in coming weeks.
“We expect some people will be able to contract to have a small volume of trash picked up at a minimal cost and others will be able to contract for higher volumes and bulk items like mattresses whenever they need it,” Biggins-Ramer said.
If plans proceed as hoped, the bid can be awarded to a single hauler this summer and the new service can go into effect before the end of the year.
Biggins-Ramer said similar trash and curbside recycling programs are in place in other northeast Ohio communities that are about the same size as Montville. Residential customers in those towns pay $15-$18 per month for trash and recycling pickup. Montville residents now pay nearly double that in some parts of the township.
Biggins-Ramer said a new trash and recycling policy offers other benefits to the township. Among them are reducing the number of days trash is placed in front of houses each week and limiting the number of trucks that come down a street each week.
The current situation allows residents to contract with any refuse hauler they choose and at least five different companies now make weekly trips through the township picking up garbage and recyclables.