Editor's note: The following is part two of a two-part series covering ongoing negotiations between the Green County transfer station and its users. Part one was printed in the Wednesday, July 24 edition.
TOWN OF DECATUR - On Wednesday, July 24, the Village of Monticello Board of Public Works began talking about possible options available to their community if the Green County transfer station closes by the end of the year.
It may seem a little early in the budget cycle for many community boards to think about that, but "It's the same question everyone is going to have to ask," said Randy Thompson, manager of the transfer station.
Monticello is the only municipality in the transfer station agreement, besides Monroe, that still picks up its own residential trash, and includes a free clean-up day each spring and fall, and the village allows the burning of dry paper. Monticello also picks up its commercial trash, which Monroe does not.
The City of Monroe has yet to verify whether it is going to continue to participate in the transfer station user agreement. Without the city's participation, the station won't have enough business to remain operational.
Thompson and board members Harvey Mandel, Steve Stettler and Richard Vogel, spoke last week about the possible future of disposal costs and services for Green County without the station.
Thompson recalled a recent phone conversation with a Monroe business owner wanting to know why his disposal bill is so much higher than a neighboring business.
"That's not us," Thompson said he told the man. "That's your contract, whoever you hired to haul your garbage."
The solid waste board expects the cost to dispose of trash will increase for everyone, including the disposing of recyclables, tires, appliances, household items, electronics, Freon and other hazardous waste products, yard waste and construction and demolition materials .
Thompson said the county transfer station is "an affordable alternative to the big waste disposal corporations."
"Losing the transfer station means eliminating competition," said Vogel, the public works director for Brodhead.
"Prices are guaranteed to go up," added Stettler.
Stettler, a county supervisor, runs Decatur Dairy just a mile from the transfer station. He expects his business costs for trash will double.
Disposal costs for a furniture store in Monroe will go from $200 to $1,200 a month, Thompson said, "They'll have to hire a 'dumpster.'"
Thompson takes his personal household garbage to work with him, four bags once a month for $60 a year. He expects his household cost to become $480 a year.
Alternatives
At least four companies provide disposal services in southern Wisconsin: Pellitteri Waste Systems, Rock Disposal Inc., Green Valley Disposal and Advanced Disposal. None provide a complete listing of rates on their websites.
Pellitteri Waste Systems of Madison serves the Village of Belleville with an automated system for the collection of trash and all-in-one recycling. Large appliances, household items, construction waste, electronics and yard waste are an added charge. Hazardous waste products need to be taken to the Dane County Clean Sweep collection site.
Advanced Disposal Services collects residential garbage and recycling in the Village of New Glarus. Each household is allowed one 32-gallon container of garbage weekly. Each additional bag or container must have a $2 pickup sticker.
The Town of Mt. Pleasant does not provide garbage pickup or drop off service. All residents must dispose of their own garbage, and the town's website directs them to the Green County transfer station.
Waste Management, the town's recycling contractor, provides a container at the town garage for residents to drop off their recycling items and lists acceptable items on the town's website. Electronic items and certain glass and ceramics are not accepted. For electronics disposal, people are directed to the Green County transfer station or Wisconsin Department of Resources website.
Brodhead's trash costs are part of its property taxes, according to Vogel. Tax-free entities, such as churches, get trash picked up for free, because they pay no property taxes. Commercial property owners that pay property taxes pay additionally for their own trash pickup.
"If the cost of garbage goes up, what has to decline?" Vogel asked.
For business, trash disposal is part of doing business, and the cost gets passed on to customers. But for the municipalities that are under budget levy limits, that option is not available, Vogel said. Something else will have to be reduced.
Mandel, Stettler, Vogel and Thompson said, to estimate the cost differences between the county transfer station and private trash disposal companies, people have only to look to the Village of New Glarus. As a service to its community, the village government has posted comparable costs on its website.
Advanced Disposal provides the village residents and businesses curbside pickup of bulk waste items at arranged times.
A Spring Clean-up Day in New Glarus this year provided disposal of furniture and other items not considered normal residential garbage but did not include tires, e-waste, medication, remodeling or construction materials. Large appliances were picked-up on only one day and needed an additional sticker attached.
Hidden Costs
Considerations for anyone looking for an alternative disposal method are not confined to finding a private disposal company to take over the weekly haul of household garbage.
It's about possibly losing the community's cleanup days and increasing costs for disposing of bulky items: electronics, farmers' equipment tires, junk metal, etc.
Transportation and labor cost also have to be figured in to know the real cost of trash disposal.
The drive from the furthest corner of the county in Town of York to the Green County transfer station, three miles east of Brodhead, is about a 33-mile drive or 45 minutes. From the Village of Monticello, it's 16.5 miles. From Monroe, it's 13.9 miles.
A full cost accounting, especially for companies and municipalities, includes liability insurance, employee pension funds, accounting costs, depreciation, and administrative costs.
But a private disposal company often adds to their bills a fuel or environmental charges, not imposed by the government or its regulatory agencies, and may change it at its discretion.
Green County has an agreement with Janesville to bring its trash to their landfill, for a price. Janesville charges $35 for tipping fees - for its citizens and for Green County's transfer station.
Prices at other licensed landfills in southern Wisconsin range from $48 per ton in Dane County to $69 in Waukesha, according the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Advanced Disposal's landfill in Dodge County charges $59 per ton, but Thompson said they add $22 a load for its scale fee. Mandrel noted the landfill in Rusk County charges a $25 flat fee "just to enter the gates," in addition to its weight rate.
Currently, there is only one other transfer station in the county. It is Advanced Disposal's privately owned station inside the city limits of Monroe. The city is currently reviewing its legal options to address complaints about odors coming from the facility. The company that previously owned the station offered to take the city's trash at a lower rate per ton than the county transfer station, and its representatives noted a year ago that the facility and staff could handle three times the amount of trash it was then handling.
And weighing the options is the City of Monroe, which just implemented a new residential trash system with automated trucks. Until a resolution is reached, the future of the Green County transfer station is up in the air and, subsequently, so are the futures of surrounding communities.
The Village of Monticello has postponed buying a new garbage truck until they know whether or not they will have the transfer station or will need to contract for that service starting next year.
TOWN OF DECATUR - On Wednesday, July 24, the Village of Monticello Board of Public Works began talking about possible options available to their community if the Green County transfer station closes by the end of the year.
It may seem a little early in the budget cycle for many community boards to think about that, but "It's the same question everyone is going to have to ask," said Randy Thompson, manager of the transfer station.
Monticello is the only municipality in the transfer station agreement, besides Monroe, that still picks up its own residential trash, and includes a free clean-up day each spring and fall, and the village allows the burning of dry paper. Monticello also picks up its commercial trash, which Monroe does not.
The City of Monroe has yet to verify whether it is going to continue to participate in the transfer station user agreement. Without the city's participation, the station won't have enough business to remain operational.
Thompson and board members Harvey Mandel, Steve Stettler and Richard Vogel, spoke last week about the possible future of disposal costs and services for Green County without the station.
Thompson recalled a recent phone conversation with a Monroe business owner wanting to know why his disposal bill is so much higher than a neighboring business.
"That's not us," Thompson said he told the man. "That's your contract, whoever you hired to haul your garbage."
The solid waste board expects the cost to dispose of trash will increase for everyone, including the disposing of recyclables, tires, appliances, household items, electronics, Freon and other hazardous waste products, yard waste and construction and demolition materials .
Thompson said the county transfer station is "an affordable alternative to the big waste disposal corporations."
"Losing the transfer station means eliminating competition," said Vogel, the public works director for Brodhead.
"Prices are guaranteed to go up," added Stettler.
Stettler, a county supervisor, runs Decatur Dairy just a mile from the transfer station. He expects his business costs for trash will double.
Disposal costs for a furniture store in Monroe will go from $200 to $1,200 a month, Thompson said, "They'll have to hire a 'dumpster.'"
Thompson takes his personal household garbage to work with him, four bags once a month for $60 a year. He expects his household cost to become $480 a year.
Alternatives
At least four companies provide disposal services in southern Wisconsin: Pellitteri Waste Systems, Rock Disposal Inc., Green Valley Disposal and Advanced Disposal. None provide a complete listing of rates on their websites.
Pellitteri Waste Systems of Madison serves the Village of Belleville with an automated system for the collection of trash and all-in-one recycling. Large appliances, household items, construction waste, electronics and yard waste are an added charge. Hazardous waste products need to be taken to the Dane County Clean Sweep collection site.
Advanced Disposal Services collects residential garbage and recycling in the Village of New Glarus. Each household is allowed one 32-gallon container of garbage weekly. Each additional bag or container must have a $2 pickup sticker.
The Town of Mt. Pleasant does not provide garbage pickup or drop off service. All residents must dispose of their own garbage, and the town's website directs them to the Green County transfer station.
Waste Management, the town's recycling contractor, provides a container at the town garage for residents to drop off their recycling items and lists acceptable items on the town's website. Electronic items and certain glass and ceramics are not accepted. For electronics disposal, people are directed to the Green County transfer station or Wisconsin Department of Resources website.
Brodhead's trash costs are part of its property taxes, according to Vogel. Tax-free entities, such as churches, get trash picked up for free, because they pay no property taxes. Commercial property owners that pay property taxes pay additionally for their own trash pickup.
"If the cost of garbage goes up, what has to decline?" Vogel asked.
For business, trash disposal is part of doing business, and the cost gets passed on to customers. But for the municipalities that are under budget levy limits, that option is not available, Vogel said. Something else will have to be reduced.
Mandel, Stettler, Vogel and Thompson said, to estimate the cost differences between the county transfer station and private trash disposal companies, people have only to look to the Village of New Glarus. As a service to its community, the village government has posted comparable costs on its website.
Advanced Disposal provides the village residents and businesses curbside pickup of bulk waste items at arranged times.
A Spring Clean-up Day in New Glarus this year provided disposal of furniture and other items not considered normal residential garbage but did not include tires, e-waste, medication, remodeling or construction materials. Large appliances were picked-up on only one day and needed an additional sticker attached.
Hidden Costs
Considerations for anyone looking for an alternative disposal method are not confined to finding a private disposal company to take over the weekly haul of household garbage.
It's about possibly losing the community's cleanup days and increasing costs for disposing of bulky items: electronics, farmers' equipment tires, junk metal, etc.
Transportation and labor cost also have to be figured in to know the real cost of trash disposal.
The drive from the furthest corner of the county in Town of York to the Green County transfer station, three miles east of Brodhead, is about a 33-mile drive or 45 minutes. From the Village of Monticello, it's 16.5 miles. From Monroe, it's 13.9 miles.
A full cost accounting, especially for companies and municipalities, includes liability insurance, employee pension funds, accounting costs, depreciation, and administrative costs.
But a private disposal company often adds to their bills a fuel or environmental charges, not imposed by the government or its regulatory agencies, and may change it at its discretion.
Green County has an agreement with Janesville to bring its trash to their landfill, for a price. Janesville charges $35 for tipping fees - for its citizens and for Green County's transfer station.
Prices at other licensed landfills in southern Wisconsin range from $48 per ton in Dane County to $69 in Waukesha, according the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Advanced Disposal's landfill in Dodge County charges $59 per ton, but Thompson said they add $22 a load for its scale fee. Mandrel noted the landfill in Rusk County charges a $25 flat fee "just to enter the gates," in addition to its weight rate.
Currently, there is only one other transfer station in the county. It is Advanced Disposal's privately owned station inside the city limits of Monroe. The city is currently reviewing its legal options to address complaints about odors coming from the facility. The company that previously owned the station offered to take the city's trash at a lower rate per ton than the county transfer station, and its representatives noted a year ago that the facility and staff could handle three times the amount of trash it was then handling.
And weighing the options is the City of Monroe, which just implemented a new residential trash system with automated trucks. Until a resolution is reached, the future of the Green County transfer station is up in the air and, subsequently, so are the futures of surrounding communities.
The Village of Monticello has postponed buying a new garbage truck until they know whether or not they will have the transfer station or will need to contract for that service starting next year.