Recycling Bin Discontinued For Village of Arthur

The Village Board decided to end its current recycling program. The vast majority of people were abusing the Village-supplied recycling bin, not using it correctly.

The fact is that this service cost the taxpayers of Arthur $26,000 + per year and most of the time the bin was “contaminated” by things that were put there that were not recyclable, so it all went to the landfill anyway. The efforts of people who were trying to do the right thing for the environment were not being accomplished. The recycle bin was in essence an expensive trash dumpster.

Non-residents may have been using it more that residents, which was prohibited and so posted with signs near the bin. Cameras and fines were considered, but the costs of identifying those abusing the service, finding out where they live, and collecting unpaid fines would only add to the taxpayers’ cost for this service.

The Village has discussed recycling with other people and organizations and a big problem is that there is no value for recyclable material at this time.

Alternatives are being considered by the Village such as periodic recyclable pickup days and electronic pickups days, for residents only, similar to town clean-up day, but that is yet to be determined.

It is not that we had no alternative plans in place, we have been looking into this issue the past two years. It is that the situation has gotten worse and Village revenues will be down due to the COVID-19 situation. The Village Board is actively trying to find ways to stretch taxpayers’ dollars and use those dollars effectively – the recycling bin was not producing the intended results.

Thanks for your understanding,

Rod Randall
Village President