Athens city administrators have asked city council for permission to renew the city’s contract with Rumpke for solid waste services for another two years with no rate increases, the Athens County Independent reported from Monday night’s council meeting. The request would extend the city’s trash and recycling arrangement without sending the service out to bid.
City Service-Safety Director Andy Stone told council, as reported by the Athens County Independent, that the existing Rumpke contract has been in place for three and a half years and is set to expire June 30, 2027, and that the current contract allows for a two-year extension subject to mutual agreement. Stone asked council for the authority to grant that extension.
Stone and Mayor Steve Patterson cited the extension offer as a good agreement for customers and for city government, the Independent reported, because it would avoid the need to go to bid for services and would keep trash-haul prices in place despite inflation. Most Athens households currently pay $22.73 a month for a single trash can, $31.35 for two cans and $34.50 for three cans, plus a $1 monthly litter fee, according to the Independent’s reporting.
The city pays Rumpke between $1.89 million and $2 million a year for waste and recycling services, the Independent reported. In January 2024, Rumpke beat out the Athens-Hocking Recycling Center’s bid by about $300,000 to win the current contract, and residents who use curbside composting with a Rumpke container pay an additional $8.42 a month.
Not every council member was ready to skip the bidding process. Council member Beth Clodfelter asked whether the Athens-Hocking Recycling Center would have a chance at the work, and Stone replied, as reported by the Independent, that the center really is not functioning as an organization any longer, after the Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District absorbed it in late 2025. Council member Michael Wood said open bidding should at least be considered, and Clodfelter asked that the solid waste district be asked whether it would be interested in bidding.
The discussion also touched on composting: a council member noted generally positive comments about trash service from Far East Side residents but said the number of composting customers appeared to be decreasing, and Stone said the contract could be adjusted to allow multi-unit composting to accommodate students, according to the Independent.
What happens next comes quickly: the possible two-year extension will be placed on council’s agenda for its meeting on Monday, Nov. 2, at Athens City Hall, the Independent reported. Council meets at 7 p.m. in council chambers at 8 E. Washington St., and meetings are also streamed online, so residents who pay the monthly rates will have a chance to hear the debate before any extension is granted.
Photo: Stch2022, CC BY-SA 4.0