Medina County commissioners push back on guaranteed Brunswick waiver in solid waste plan update

Medina County commissioners on Thursday moved to back a version of the county’s solid waste plan that removes a guaranteed waiver sought by the City of Brunswick, saying Brunswick’s proposed conditions would shift costs to residents and compel renegotiation of the county’s hauler contract.

An agency official who addressed the board said the county has tightened enforcement at its transfer station and clarified that construction and demolition (C&D) debris such as block, brick, concrete and lumber will no longer be accepted at the residential drop-off to protect compactors. “We recently made the decision to, actually start enforcing, not taking construction and demolition debris material at the transfer station,” the official said.

Discussion turned to flow control and a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) review that considered scenarios for allowing Brunswick to send up to 15,000 tons of material to a different facility. A commissioner summarized the TAC vote as close — “5 of the members voted for that provision, 4 voted against, 1 abstained” — and said Brunswick later insisted on additional conditions the county finds unacceptable, including an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027 and an unconditional right to cancel a waiver.

Commissioners warned those changes would have financial consequences. One commissioner said preliminary talks with the county’s current hauler, Rumpke, indicate a waiver could require negotiating a new contract that would raise the transport, transfer and disposal (TTD) fee by roughly $3.15 per ton and potentially extend the contract from 2033 to 2040, with removal of a 5% materials recovery guarantee. “It’s gonna cost everybody else in the county dollars,” the commissioner said, urging the board to support the consultant’s amendments that remove a guaranteed waiver.

Board members also discussed enforcement concerns after finding evidence that some haulers had diverted loads away from the county transfer station in violation of rules. Commissioners said the county needs stronger enforcement and documentation of diversion to protect residents and independent haulers.

The county plans to send the version of the plan that removes the guaranteed Brunswick waiver to the policy committee for review and to solicit public comment. The board noted the public comment period is expected to close by Sept. 1; the policy committee will consider input from municipalities, townships and the public and then determine which plan goes out for formal ratification.

No formal vote to adopt the plan occurred at the meeting; commissioners said they were directing staff and the policy committee on which draft to send for public review. At the end of the discussion, commissioners reiterated the need to balance market competition among haulers with service levels and costs for county residents.