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PARKERSBURG — A meeting of local officials to discuss the future of recycling in Wood County will be open to the public.

The Wood County Solid Waste Authority invited leaders from the county and the cities of Parkersburg, Vienna, Williamstown and North Hills to gather at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Wood County Resiliency Center in downtown Parkersburg.

Sarah Robinson, the authority’s director, said members of the public can attend, although there is no public comment period in the meeting.

“It’s just a brainstorming, educational kind of a meeting,” she said.

The meeting was called in the wake of Parkersburg’s plans to close the city’s Municipal Recycling Facility, or MRF, if Parkersburg City Council approves a contract with Rumpke to offer curbside recycling service.

Council on Jan. 13 approved the final reading of an ordinance authorizing a contract for trash service with Waste Management. Mayor Tom Joyce said recently that he hopes the new service will begin by March 1, but a date will be announced with the company once it’s finalized.

When the city sought requests for proposals for sanitation service last year, it originally included recycling.

But a separate request was issued in November for a recycling-only proposal where only those participating would pay for the service.

That proposal from Rumpke would have charged participants $15.25 a month, with six months due up front. Council voted during a special meeting on Jan. 6 to table that ordinance, with officials saying they hoped to come up with a less expensive plan.

Details of the revised program are expected to be announced during a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers in the Parkersburg Municipal Building.

Joyce has said the recycling contract is separate from the fate of the MRF, which had an operating deficit of approximately $3.8 million between fiscal years 2019 and 2025.

Since its inception, the facility had accepted recyclable materials from anyone who dropped them off, as well as commercial haulers serving other communities, at no charge. On Dec. 1, the city stopped accepting recyclables from commercial haulers, impacting what some companies in the area would take.

During the Jan. 6 meeting, Solid Waste Authority board member Wayne Dunn asked the city to hold off on its recycling decision until local officials could meet to discuss the issue.

Joyce has said the city’s residents should not be subsidizing recycling for other communities.

Vienna Mayor Chad Emrick said Friday he plans to attend Thursday’s meeting with the Solid Waste Authority.

“We need to find a comprehensive way to deal with it (recycling) for all of our communities,” he said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com