Cleveland Agrees to Deal to Sell Recyclables to Pittsburgh Company

By: Mark Gillispie
The Plain Dealer
June 24, 2010

Going green has become a little more profitable for Cleveland. 

The city has struck a deal with Greenstar in Pittsburgh that, at least for now, will pay the city $26 a ton for recyclables. The agreement with Greenstar North America could bring in more than $170,000 a year to a city in need of new sources of money.

Through most of last year, Waste Management Corp. processed recyclables that the city collected curbside and at scattered drop-off points. The city received $3 to $6 a ton but had to deliver the recyclables to Waste Management's processing plant in Oakwood.

When the contract expired last fall, Waste Management began charging Cleveland $24 a ton for recyclables and made the same offer during a bidding process that led to the Greenstar deal. 

Under the new contract, approved by the City Council this month, Greenstar picks up the recyclables from Cleveland's Ridge Road transfer station.

Waste Commissioner Ronnie Owens said the deal is a "win-win" for Cleveland.

"This just demonstrates the mayor's commitment to sustainability and having us be more efficient," Owens said. "Every dollar we can save now helps us in the long run in saving jobs and providing services to the people of the city of Cleveland."

The deal with Greenstar is tied to commodity prices, said Steve Dunn, a regional manager for the company. If prices rise, the city receives more money. If prices plummet, as they did when the global recession hit full force in 2008, the city could end up paying for processing.

The new deal comes as city officials plan to expand their curbside recycling. The program now serves 15,000 households -- only 10 percent of the city's trash pickup points.

Mayor Frank Jackson has committed to expanding the program to 25,000 households in the next year. The plan is to eventually make recycling mandatory throughout the city, Owens said.

Recycling is good for the environment and the city's bottom line. Cleveland pays $27.50 a ton to put trash into landfills. So each ton of recyclables saved from the waste stream is worth more than $50 to the city.

Cleveland disposed of 220,000 tons of trash last year but had just 5,800 tons of recyclables.

The city also will sell about 800 tons of recyclables gathered from private companies and the cities of Lakewood, Brooklyn, Euclid and Cleveland Heights last year, Owens said.

Cleveland receives $8 a ton from the cities on top of what it receives from Greenstar

Read full article »