By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Since the cost of disposal for many pressurized tanks and cylinders, along with a variety of tires, is more than the fee being charged, the Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling Board has approved fee increases.
The fees have to be increased to keep up with the cost of disposal, said Morgan Gerk, director of Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling, at the solid waste and recycling board’s July 7 meeting.
The new fees will go into effect August 1.
Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and chair of the solid waste and recycling management board, said that in his opinion, the new proposed fees seemed reasonable and not out of line.
The Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling Management Board unanimously approved the fee increases.
The biggest disparity between the disposal cost and the fee being charged is for multiple mixed gas refrigerant cylinders.
The disposal cost for the refrigerant cylinders is $75.78 but Dunn County was only charging a fee of $12.
Under the new fee schedule, the fee for each refrigerant cylinder will be $80, an increase of $68.
Polyfoam spray systems, such as the kind used to put foam insulation into an attic, have a disposal cost of $575, compared to the fee of $400 being charged by Dunn County.
The new fee for polyfoam spray system tanks will be $575 each.
The tanks, when purchased for use, cost about $175 each, Gerk noted.
Propane
On the new fee schedule, one-pound propane, MAPP (used for welding and cutting torches), CO2, oxygen and industrial gases cylinders have a disposal cost of $2.44 each while Dunn County was charging $1.
The new fee for the cylinders will be $3 each.
For two-pound to 100-pound propane, helium, oxygen and industrial gases, the disposal cost is $11.10 each while the fee was $12.
The new fee for the larger cylinders will be $15.
CO2/N2 cartridges cost $9.74 each to dispose of while Dunn County previously accepted those for free.
The new fee for CO2/N2 cartridges will be $12 each.
The disposal cost for single gas refrigerant cylinders is $11.10 each while the fee Dunn County was charging was $12.
The new fee for single gas refrigerant cylinders will be $15 each.
Boom!
One of the solid waste and recycling board members asked if the new fees only applied to full cylinders.
Gerk said the disposal fees Dunn County pays applies to all cylinders and tanks.
The only way a scrap metal vendor will take a cylinder or a tank is if “it is literally cut in half,” Gerk said.
“It doesn’t matter how many holes you shoot in it with your .22, they will not take them. The only way they will take them is if they are cut in half,” he said.
“Everybody (around the country) is paying exorbitant fees. It’s because it’s a poorly managed system. What really needs to happen with compressed and pressurized tanks and cylinders recycling is a cyclic economy where you buy that equipment from a certain vendor, and when it’s empty, you bring it back to that vendor, and they have a recycling program in place,” Gerk said.
“That should be enforced through regulatory law. You know a good example of where it works? Core charges on batteries. It works perfectly. Everybody takes their battery back to get $20, if they can, and the battery is recycled. It’s a perfect example of (how) that could work for this,” Gerk said.
“These are the best prices we can get (for the disposal),” he said.
One board member asked if solid waste and recycling would take the tanks or cylinders for free for scrap metal if they are cut in half.
“Yes, if it’s cut in half. But I would never, ever recommend to someone that they cut it in half … believe it or not, when I first came here as director, we had paper literature out there that said, ‘as long as you drill a hole in your propane tanks, we will take them for free.’ Think about that for a second. That’s not the kind of thing you want to promote,” Gerk said.
“BOOM,” commented one board member.
Tires
The disposal cost for Dunn County for bulk tires by the ton taken at the Transfer Station on state Highway 29 west of Menomonie is $270.62.
The current fee is $275 per ton, and the new fee will be $300 per ton.
The disposal cost for Dunn County for Skid Steer tracks, mats and belting is $469.73 per ton.
The current fee for the Skid Steer materials is $415 per ton, and the new fee will be $500 per ton.
Bicycle tires cost Dunn County $3.30 each for disposal, and the current fee is $2.50.
The new fee for bicycle tires will be $4 each.
Here are the other tire fees:
• Passenger, trailer, motorcycle, ATV — no rim: disposal cost of $3.36. Current fee of $4. New fee of $5.
• Passenger, trailer, motorcycle, ATV — with rim: disposal cost of $8.68. Current fee of $8. New fee of $10.
• Light truck/SUV/Forklift — no rim: disposal cost of $4.38. Current fee of $5. New fee of $6.
• Light truck/SUV/Forklift — with rim: disposal cost of $9.76. Current fee of $10. New fee of $12.
• Large truck/semi — no rim: disposal cost of $14.33. Current fee of $15. New fee of $17.
• Large truck/semi — with rim: disposal cost of $25.09. Current fee of $25. New fee of $30.
• Farm tractor front — no rim: disposal cost of $9.49. Current fee of $10. New fee of $12.
• Farm tractor front — without rim: disposal cost of $9.49. Current fee of $20. No fee increase.
• Inner tubes — half the price of the same size tire. No fee increase.
Solid waste sticker
Dunn County currently charges $100 for a solid waste permit sticker for county residents who live in a municipality that is not a member of the solid waste and recycling program.
The new fee, based on $71 per capita disposal cost and a household of 2.5 people ($177.50), will be $200.
