Wood County Solid Waste Authority member Wayne Dunn, along with Director Sarah Robinson, addressed a gathering of local officials Thursday at the Wood County Resiliency Center about how recycling can continue in the area as costs have grown for the facility funded by the City of Parkersburg. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — Officials are looking at options to continue recycling services for local residents as the City of Parkersburg considers closing its Municipal Recycling Facility.

Members of the Wood County Solid Waste Authority met with local municipal and county officials at the Wood County Resiliency Center on Thursday. A number of members of the public were also on hand.

State law requires a city of over 10,000 residents to have curbside recycling. Recently, Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said the Municipal Recycling Facility, also known as the MRF, has run a nearly $3.8 million deficit from fiscal years 2019 to 2025.

“Recycling is not cheap,” Joyce said.

Over the last four years, the average break even rate is $525.79 a ton. Joyce talked about lower prices that the materials being brought in are being sold for.

Wood County Solid Waste Authority member Wayne Dunn, along with Director Sarah Robinson, addressed a gathering of local officials Thursday at the Wood County Resiliency Center about how recycling can continue in the area as costs have grown for the facility funded by the City of Parkersburg. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

He said they don’t have the workforce available qualified to work the trucks and he decided to stop doing curbside recycling pick-ups and encourage residents to use drop-off points where they could bring materials and separate them by glass, metals, paper and other materials.

For a long time, people and commercial haulers have been able to bring materials to the MRF and have them processed at no cost.

Joyce said that would have to change.

“It just can’t be a free drop-off,” Joyce said. “It is not free because someone is paying for it.”

Parkersburg residents are paying for it, he said, but people all over Wood County as well as Washington County are using it. Joyce said he should have stopped that practice a long time ago.

“For 33 years, only Parkersburg rate-payers and taxpayers have been funding this,” Joyce said. “That is unfair to everybody.

“The cost of running the facility has grown to the point where it is untenable. I think if you use a service, you should pay for a service.”

The city is looking at re-instituting curbside pick-up through a private contractor. That has been negotiated and presented to Parkersburg City Council.

“I am fully onboard with continuing discussions and moving down the road,” Joyce said.

Wood County Commission President Blair Couch said something could be set up where people could take recyclables to a designated spot. He said many people drive out to the landfill to dispose of things themselves and people know where it is.

He wants to meet with officials with Waste Management to see what might be set up or what could be done at the landfill.

“We need to have Waste Management sitting here talking about solutions they can offer,” Couch said. “They are experts about it.”

Mark Holstine, executive director of the West Virginia Solid Waste Management Board, said having Waste Management’s input would be valuable. He said that in many cases, plastics are not revenue-generating materials.

Revenue-generating materials include metal, aluminum cans, office paper and cardboard.

“They fluctuate, but they do generate revenue,” Holstine said. “When you get into the other materials, you are basically paying someone to take those from you.”

SWA Member Wayne Dunn said the issue is a bigger problem than just recycling. He talked about the need to educate people to cut down on waste by rethinking what people use and how they dispose of things.

“We are all part of the solution,” he said.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com