Solid waste board provides Mulberry $500 as recycling hauling costs climb; Clinton Central warns its program is unsustainable

The Wildcat Solid Waste Management District voted to provide Mulberry $500 to help cover a local match for a state recycling grant as board members grappled with rising hauling and disposal costs and worries that a school-run recycling center may close.

The board approved the $500 allocation after Paula Bennett, who identified herself as the former clerk-treasurer for Mulberry, described a $1,577 award from IDEM for cameras that would capture license plates and help the town deter illegal dumping. “The total grant that I requested was for $2,075, and we were awarded $1,577,” Bennett said, adding the town needed roughly $500 to complete the match.

Director Joel told the board the district had purchased roll-off containers to replace the closed Frankfort Street Department drop-off and that Wampler’s hauling quoted $90 per pull. Joel estimated disposal and sorting at Warner and Son would cost about $2,500 a year but said hauling could push district costs to roughly $10,000 annually. “The transportation on that is going to get kind of expensive,” he said.

Clinton Central Superintendent Levi Owen told trustees the school receives $12,000 a year from the solid waste district to operate its recycling center but that labor and operational costs already leave the district “in the hole.” Owen estimated a quarter of an employee’s time allocated to recycling totals about $17,372.55 and raised safety and liability concerns because the site is open at all hours and lies next to school transportation facilities and an elementary playground. “We are spending district funds on recycling, and … that’s pretty hard for me as a superintendent charged with educating children, to supplement recycling efforts,” Owen said.

Board members discussed several options to manage rising costs: tapping rainy-day funds, modestly increasing the tax rate, or charging per-item or per-TV fees for electronics drop-off. Several trustees warned that user fees risk encouraging illegal dumping and would be complicated to enforce. Another option raised was limiting hours at drop-offs or stationing attendants, but trustees noted attendant staffing would add salary costs. Some members recalled that recyclables once generated revenue for the district but now require payment to process.

After a motion and second, the board approved the $500 payment to Mulberry from the equipment budget by voice vote. A separate suggestion to provide Clinton Central $1,000 was discussed but was not recorded as a formal, approved motion in the transcript.

District leaders said they will coordinate with Mulberry and Clinton Central to seek short-term solutions while studying the longer-term budget and operational impacts of the new containers and hauling model. Trustees flagged the need for a plan within weeks and acknowledged that any structural fix will likely require more resources than one-time payments.

The board also noted related operational items in the director’s report, including a canceled HAZWOPER refresher and a separate equipment repair estimate (noted in the board packet). The meeting moved on to clerical items before adjournment.