Environmental Features Incoprorated into Hilliard’s New Residential Solid Waste Contract

Beginning July 1st, Hilliard’s new residential solid waste contract will take effect, brining with it several new environmentally sustainable features. Single-family households will receive new 64-gallon recycling carts (residents of condos will receive 32-gallon containers) — up from the 18-gallon bins previously used. In addition, residents will have the option of upgrading to 96-gallon recycling carts at no additional charge. By utilizing larger, uniformly-sized carts, the City hopes to promote residential recycling and increase diversion rates significantly from the current figure of approximately 18%.

Even with the upgraded services, standard monthly costs for residents will increase by only 10 cents, from $16.18 to $16.28. Further, if the City is able to achieve a 50% diversion rate through the use of the larger carts, the monthly cost will decrease by approximately $1.84 (even more of an incentive to recycle!).

Finally, it is worth noting that City Council looked favorably upon Local Waste Services’ commitment to convert its entire fleet of trucks to natural gas by 2018, which will greatly reduce emissions. Pickups for trash, recycling, and yard waste will be on Tuesdays, and the City noted that the move to single day pickups will result in less wear and tear on the roads.

Thank you to all those who participated in the survey posted on this site last year. The Environmental Sustainability Commission prepared a summary of your comments and submitted them to City Council for their consideration. For more details on the solid waste contract, click here. Please use the comment section below for any questions.