Last year, the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste District wrote sensible rules on when, how and how much trash canbe dumped in landfills in the three counties. Does the agency have the legal authority to impose these rules?
Yes, said Stark County Common Pleas Judge Richard D. Reinbold Jr. last week.
We can’t imagine the landfill interests not appealing the decision. We hope they lose.
All of the rules will benefit the quality of life in Stark County. They will regulate landfill hours, truck traffic and acceptable amounts of odor, dust, noise and vibration. They will require landfills to monitor groundwater and to have plans to deal with emergencies and litter.
Best of all, they will forbid landfills in Stark, Wayne and Tuscarawas counties from taking wastefrom wastedistricts that have lower recycling rates.
In other words, the districts that recycle the highest percentage of their own trash canwill have the most control over whether trashfrom other counties comes into their landfills.
As a result, wastedistricts will compete to have the best recycling rates.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency couldn’t ask for a better incentive for counties to meet recycling goals.
If higher courts see the situation as Reinbold does, then come June 1, 2009, the more you recycle, the more you can help to limit the amount of trashcan that comes into Stark County from elsewhere. This will be a challenge for all of us, as residential and business consumers and creators of trash.
Canton’s impending entry into curbside recycling should help. When city leaders get a handle on the actual cost and savings of the program, they should look at a discount on sanitation trash canfor households that recycle.
If counties can be rewarded for recycling, Canton should reward its residents and businesses, too.
