Illinois Village Raises Garbage Services, Fees

But village officials say it is a small price for the convenience offered by the new 64-gallon recycling bins residents will receive at the end of April.

Monday, village trustees approved changes to the village's garbage collection contract with Waste Management-Northwest.

The base service charges will remain the same, $7.50 per month for single-family customers and $5.05 per month for multi-family.

The big change is an increase in the recycling charge from $2.50 to $3.50 per month. This is due to the switch from the smaller bins to the new 64-gallon rolling carts.

This charge, though, is offset by a reduction in tipping fees - 60 cents for single-family and 40 cents for multifamily - to the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County at the Wheeling Township Transfer Station. This can be attributed to the agency's sale of a portion of the Hanover Township balefill site. Proceeds from the sale were used to reduce the agency's debt, with savings sent back to the original communities, including Buffalo Grove.

But the good news doesn't end there. Collection rates will be frozen through April 30, 2007.

And, in terms of practical benefit, village officials are confident that the new bins will be a vast improvement over the old 18-gallon ones.

Assistant Village Manager William Brimm said Waste Management-Northwest will distribute the new carts to residents around April 21.

Each cart will be on wheels and, Brimm said, will address a number of issues the village has had to confront over the years with the old bins. For one thing, they will be covered.

"We won't have litter, most specifically newsprint and light plastic, blowing around the community," Brimm said.

Also, during storms, the material will stay dry and with greater capacity, they don't need to be set out as frequently. Finally, although there is informal commingling of cans, bottles and other materials, the new containers will encourage greater commingling.

"I believe this is going to be a real positive program," said Brimm, who added that pilot programs in Skokie have resulted in dramatic improvements in recycling.

The new recycling program received praise from Village President Elliott Hartstein.

"I think this presents a great opportunity for us to further promote our recycling program," Hartstein said. - Daily Herald (Arlington, Ill.)