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 concludes in August; the policy committee will review the ratification tally in October.

Ramer outlined how the plan was developed: the district collected 2022 baseline data, worked with consultants (Resource Recovery Systems and Chagrin Valley Engineering), engaged a policy committee built around the county planning commission, and ran a 30-day public comment period and a public hearing earlier in 2025. "We received no comments, oral or written," she said of that outreach. The committee was told no attendees came to the public hearing.

Key technical and program details presented to the committee include: - Current scale and infrastructure: the district reports about 1,500,000 tons of waste generated annually and exports that material to 18 landfills outside the county. The presentation said the statewide snapshot shows roughly 54 years of landfill capacity remaining. The district feeds four material-recovery facilities (MRFs) and uses 17 transfer stations, nine of which are within the county. - Recovery rates and targets: the district currently reports a system-wide reduction/recycling rate of about 38% and landfilling of about 62% across residential, commercial and industrial sectors. - Program expansions: pilots for lithium-ion battery management, a textile analysis to track clothing and bedding disposal, and investigation of organics consortiums for yard and food waste. - Grants and incentives: the district plans to expand from three grant types to four, revise allowable uses and increase funding levels to reflect inflation. The district described a $50,000 special projects pool with awards up to $25,000 for operational projects. - Operations and services: continued hub-and-spoke household-hazardous-waste collection, expanded litter-collection crews under contract with court community services, free drop-off hours at the district facility (including some second Saturdays), and an environmental-crimes task force that coordinates investigations of illegal dumping with local law enforcement. - Funding: the district is financed via a generation fee built into disposal costs. Committee members were told the district's generation fee is $2 per ton (historically $1 at inception), which the presentation projects to remain at $2 per ton over the 15-year plan for solvency projections. The speaker explained the district projects roughly $2.6 million in revenue from the generation fee against projected spending of about $2.7 million and intends to draw down fund balance to start expanded programs.

Committee members asked about specific materials and local service implications. Vice President Russell (committee member) raised concern about Styrofoam and plastics; Ramer noted limited end markets and said she is working with manufacturers and national groups on extended producer responsibility. Council Member Jim Posch, vice chair of the committee, asked about plastic-bag bans; Ramer said a county ban remains on the books but state legislation has preempted local bans, leaving the county measure effectively voluntary.

Director Klinkscale of public works (City of Cleveland Heights) and other local staff discussed operational issues tied to the city's collection fleet: several trucks required major repairs or replacement after fires and mechanical failures, which has temporarily affected yard-waste pickup schedules. Klinkscale said crews have used a rear packer and manual collection to keep trash pickup on schedule and that the city is budgeting for additional trucks in future years.

The committee agreed to send the resolution back to council for placement on the June 16 council agenda. Committee members asked staff to provide an update on the city's trash and recycling efforts and transfer-station upgrades at a future committee meeting (targeted for August).