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Council accepts $25,000 county grant to pilot city compost drop‑off with Rust Belt Riders
Summary
University Heights will run a six‑month composting pilot using a $25,000 grant from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District; the city will place five bins at Walter Stinson Community Park, contract pickup with Rust Belt Riders and assess interest for future programming.
The University Heights City Council accepted a $25,000 grant from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District to fund a six‑month composting pilot program that will allow residents to drop off compostable materials at Walter Stinson Community Park.
Under the pilot, the city will promote the program citywide, mail informational postcards to all households, and place five collection bins at the park. Rust Belt Riders (contractor) will empty the bins biweekly; staff reported Rust Belt Riders’ fee for biweekly pickup of five bins is $3,680 per month, or $22,080 for six months. The grant will also cover outreach materials and site signage.
Staff said 78 households currently participate in a separate drop‑off program; the pilot will be open to all University Heights households and will allow the city to gauge demand, determine operational costs, and decide whether to include composting in the FY2026 budget. Council approved the grant and asked staff to report results at the end of the pilot.
A council member noted that the grant’s per‑month contractor cost implies the pilot will need substantially more participants to be sustained long term if the city must pay full operational costs, but councilors said the data gathered during the pilot will inform next steps.
