Broken-down truck forces Scott City to cancel curbside recycling

After nearly 20 years, residents of Scott City will no longer have curbside recycling pickup.

The city council was faced with the unexpected decision at its most recent meeting, according to Scott City Mayor Ron Cummins. The company providing the recycling service informed the city it could not carry out curbside pickup because its recycling truck required repairs.

It was at this point the council discovered there was no official contract between the city and the recycling company.

Inter-Rail Systems Inc. (ISI) has provided recycling services, including curbside pickup, to Scott City since 2012.

Between 1997 and 2012, the city handled recycling. But the program was not profitable for the city, and ISI was selected to carry out the program. Cummins said this was done after then-mayor Tim Porch gave ISI the city’s recycling equipment, including trucks and compactors, without knowledge of the city council. Cummins was on the city council at this time.

A sign directing the public to a drop-off site for recycling is seen Friday at 314 Madison St. in Scott City.Fred Lynch

“Once the council found out about it, we discussed it, and the transition had already been made, all the equipment had already been moved,” Cummins said. “The council decided to leave it the way it was because there wasn’t much we could do.”

Cummins said the arrangement sounded good at first: The city gave the company the equipment, and the company offered all the recycling services for the city. City collector Tina Blattel said the agreement reduced the city’s trash bill by lessening the load hauled regularly to the transfer station.

Further benefiting ISI, recycling was carried out in a building that was part of a redevelopment plan and did not require real-estate taxes.

But, Cummins said, “we didn’t have any way to hold him in to the contract.” And the company had problems with its truck breaking down or not picking up recycling in a timely manner, Blattel said.

The problem came to a head last week, Cummins said, when the city was notified ISI could not carry out pickup services because the recycling truck needed $10,000 in repairs.

The city had assisted with repairs in the past, so the city council, believing ISI was contracted to provide services through 2017, referred to the contract before making a decision.

They then discovered the contract was never signed by an ISI representative, Cummins said.

“The former mayor did not advise us that the gentleman did not agree on the contract, so he didn’t sign it,” Cummins said. “So the council was kind of in the dark.”

Because the next recycling pickup was days away, the city council loaned ISI a truck to complete the job for the week. But without a functioning truck, ISI would be unable to continue the service.

The city does not want to abandon recycling altogether. Cummins said to continue the program, the city is asking residents to drop off their recycling to designated spots. Right now, there’s only one — at the Old Blair Building at 314 Madison St. But Cummins said more are planned.

ISI will continue to provide recycling services — just not pickup service.

“It’s kind of a bad deal,” Cummins said.

The city is tasked with determining the next course of action. Cummins said the council wants to continue offering recycling, but without the necessary equipment, the costs of doing so would be astronomical.

“I guess in a roundabout way we could go back and repossess it because he did not sign a contract and it is still our equipment,” Cummins said.

But the city is faced with a number of other issues it needs to deal with, so “as long as [ISI is] still providing recycling services for us, it’s to our benefit right now to leave it in place.”

Inter-Rail Systems Inc. and Tim Porch did not return calls seeking comment.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

314 Madison Street, Scott City, Mo.