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PARKERSBURG - A Wood County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the City of Parkersburg's new method of picking up recyclables does not follow established state law.
Judge J.D. Beane said in a declaratory judgment issued Thursday that the city remains obligated under state law to establish and implement a source-separation and curbside-collection program for recyclable materials that satisfies the minimum requirements of the statute.
A declaratory judgment in West Virginia is an official court ruling that defines legal rights, status or relations without ordering any action or awarding damages.
Parkersburg resident and local attorney Walt Auvil filed the lawsuit in July 2025 after the city suspended its curbside recycling service in May of that year, citing manpower issues.
Auvil said, in motions, the city violated state code requiring cities with a population of 10,000 or more to establish and implement a mandatory recycling program offering pickup of at least three materials at least once a month.
The court's ruling says the city’s subscription-based program with Rumpke of Ohio Inc., which charges those participating an additional $3 a month, went into effect in May of this year, is deficient.
The city said in responses to Auvil’s suit that it suspended curbside recycling due to a lack of employees to provide the service. When the answer to the suit was filed in August 2025, the city had 17 of 27 budgeted positions in the Sanitation Department filled. Between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, the city hired 32 new sanitation employees and saw 30 resignations, retirements or terminations from the department, the response says.
"The Court declares that the City may use contractors and may charge lawful fees for recycling collection, but any such contract and fee structure must be part of a program that satisfies the minimum requirements of (state law)," Thursday's ruling said. "The Court DECLARES that a program under which all residents or property owners are charged a monthly amount for citywide recycling services, but curbside collection is made available only to persons who separately subscribe and pay an additional monthly charge, does not satisfy the statutory minimum for a municipal source-separation and curbside-collection program under (state law), insofar as it violates the mandatory language of the statute and creates a voluntary system."
The court ruled the city’s contract for curbside recycling with Rumpke cannot by itself satisfy the City’s obligations under state law because the contract covers only service to residential units.
"Nothing in this order requires the city to use any particular contractor, set any particular fee, adopt any particular route, use any particular container, or administer its recycling program in any particular manner beyond compliance with (state law)," the ruling said.
Nothing in the order adjudicates (Auvil's) requests for mandamus, prohibition, injunctive relief, or motion to strike, except to the extent the declarations herein may bear upon the parties’ remaining claims or defenses, the ruling said.
City Council voted to contract out sanitation service to Waste Management in January, but that contract is on hold while citizens pursue a referendum vote. Trash pickup is being handled under an emergency month-to-month contract with Waste Management. The monthly $21 sanitation fee includes a $1.50 recycling surcharge for all residents, separate from the $3 recycling fee.