Committee recommends Cuyahoga County solid-waste plan return to council for ratification

The Municipal Services Environmental Sustainability Committee on June 11 recommended that a resolution to adopt the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District's 2026'2040 solid waste management plan be returned to council for a vote on June 16.

The plan, a 329-page document with a 15-year planning window and a 2022 baseline, proposes expanded programming for hard-to-manage items (including lithium-ion batteries and textiles), a pilot for organics/composting consortiums, and changes to grant program structure. Elizabeth Bagans Ramer, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, told the committee the update does not introduce any new disposal fees: "Most importantly, there are no new fees introduced in this update," she said.

The plan is a statutory requirement under state law (House Bill 592 was cited during the presentation) and must be ratified by the district's 59 political subdivisions during a 90-day ratification period. Ramer said the district must secure pieces of legislation covering 60% of the district population, inclusive of its largest political subdivision, the City of Cleveland, and County Council, before the Ohio EPA will certify and issue findings and orders to implement the plan. The ratification period began in May and…