BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — For the first time in decades, the city of Bowling Green will have a new recycling partner for curbside collection.
City council approved a roughly $200,000 contract with Republic Services to take over curbside recycling collections in the new year at its final meeting of 2019 Monday.
Previously, the Bowling Green Recycling Center handled curbside collecting but told council earlier this year it could no longer afford to take on that duty.
The new vendor does come with some added benefits.
"One benefit for residents is they'll be able to recycle glass and other types of plastic," Councilman Bruce Jeffers said.
The new contract passed unanimously, but most council members stressed that more needs to be done next year to avoid increasing fees again. Council also voted 6 to 1 to approve the 2020 budget, which includes a slight increase in the city trash fee from $13 to $15.
"I wish we would've spent more time discussing options to the two-dollar fee," Councilman Greg Robinette said.
"I'm not happy about this. No legislator is ever happy when you have to raise fees," Councilwoman Sandy Rowland said. "And I see this problem as a general fund problem and something which we (will) probably be addressing again."
Councilman William Herald was already an elected official in 1988 when the curbside collection started and said he believes the service needs to continue being an option for residents.
"I can't picture the character of Bowling Green without having curbside recycling," he added.
Robinette noted that the option of eliminating curbside recycling, while not appealing to many, was an option and one that would've saved money.
"We've got to decide as council whether in the long term we can sustain this increased cost," he said. "And I think that's going to be the hard part, the hard discussion next year."