City Council met Monday to further discuss the addition of curbside composting to Athens’ waste management plan.
Councilman Sam Crowl, D-3rd Ward, said adding composting to the waste management plan would decrease the amount of food waste in landfills, which would decrease the amount of methane gas produced in landfills. It is estimated that about 20% of the methane gases that are produced by human activity come from landfills, Crowl said.
Despite the additional cost curbside that composting would impose on residents of Athens, many members of Council received emails in support of the additional service. Councilwoman Arian Smedley, D-1st ward, said she has received 10 emails from residents of Athens in support of curbside composting but is still concerned for those who may not be able to afford the additional cost of this service.
“My concern remains for anyone we’re not hearing from who may not have the ability to watch our meeting,” Smedley said.
Crowl said the cost of composting would be charged to every resident of Athens, even those who already compost in their own home.
“It is really not affordable if every account in the city of Athens doesn’t chip in. Recycling would never have grown to where it has today in the city of Athens if it was an opt-in service,” Crowl said.
Council also discussed funding for the Stimson Avenue construction project, which includes $2.1 million awarded to the city of Athens from the Ohio Small Cities Grant. Crowl said an additional $400,000 is expected to be awarded from the Ohio Public Works Grant as well as a 0% loan of $400,000.
Currently, the city administration is recommending the city to apply for a loan of about $5 million for the Stimson Avenue construction project. Robert Heady, director of public works and city engineer, informed Council the loan recommendation could decrease to about $3 million, as several grants for this project are currently pending.
“Basically, if you think about it, we haven’t touched Stimson Avenue since the river was rerouted,” Heady said.
