Columbus City Council approves extension of Rumpke contract

The Columbus, Ohio, City Council has approved a five-year contract with Cincinnati-based Rumpke Waste & Recycling to handle the city’s residential recycling and yard waste program.

According to a spokeswoman for the Columbus City Council, the contract is valued at $8.5 million per year and would allow Rumpke to provide biweekly single-stream collection of recyclables from city residents. The program includes primarily single-family residences with some multifamily residences in the city. In total, 201,000 residents would be serviced under the new contract.

Through the recycling program in 2015, the city says it diverted 42,380 tons of recyclables from landfill. The city also reported an average participation rate for 2015 of 77 percent.

Rumpke, which has had the city’s recycling contract since 2012, was the only bidder. When Rumpke first bid on the contract in 2012, the company was chosen over two other bidders. The initial Rumpke contract was to end at the end of March.

A spokeswoman for Rumpke says the company appreciates the opportunity to continue providing recycling and yard waste services to the city. “Residents, city officials and elected leaders have truly embraced recycling and sustainability efforts in Columbus," she says, "and we're excited to be part of it. Our main priority is ensuring the highest level of customer service that residents and City officials expect and deserve.”

Several sources say the price the city will pay under the new contract terms is 50 percent greater than in the 2012 contract. The spokeswoman notes that either party has the right to terminate the contract with 180 days’ notice.

The bid raises the price to collect recycling and yard waste from $30.1 million from 2012 to 2017 to about $44.3 million over the next five years.

The entire contract is worth about $45 million because it also includes other collections, such as emptying sidewalk recycling bins in the Short North. Rumpke has said its own costs have increased and the market for recyclables isn't strong.

Collected recyclables are processed at Rumpke's Columbus recycling facility, while yard waste will be taken to a regional compost facility.

The Columbus Dispatch notes that because only one bid was submitted, if the Rumpke contract was not accepted the city’s recycling program would have discontinued.

The ordinance that council passed grants Columbus’s Director of the Department of Public Services Jennifer Gallagher the authority to continue negotiating with Rumpke for potential cost savings, with solutions expected in the next six months. Gallagher also must deliver quarterly reports to the council about progress made toward cost savings.