“It came in at around $200 per ton,” Jackson said in a teleconference Tuesday. “For [Cleveland], that’s about $7 million.”
Jackson said the financial goal of the municipal recycling program was merely to break even, but that Cleveland had in fact turned a profit for years, when recyclable goods were hot commodities overseas. That’s no longer the case.
The city plans to continue shipping recyclable materials to the landfill until they receive a more “reasonable” bid or until such time as the market improves. Jackson had no idea when they might be.
“In a practical sense, there is no recycling,” he said.
The Mayor advised, though, that Cleveland residents should still go through the motions of separating their recyclable material from their garbage — rinsing milk jugs and folding cardboard boxes and placing these items, loose, in the blue city carts. He noted that once a habit is broken, it’s often difficult to return to them.
Though Fox 8 broke the story last year that much of the city’s recycling was already going to a landfill — they placed GPS tracking devices in recyclable goods to confirm — yesterday’s confirmation from the Mayor himself that recycling no longer exists came as a shock for both residents and leaders.
Ward 3 City Councilman Kerry McCormack, for example, told Scene that he heard the news from a resident who’d seen the Fox 8 story after the Mayor’s conference call with the media.
“Even when it’s bad news, it’s always worth it to proactively communicate it,” McCormack said. “Even if you have to tell the whole city or neighborhood bad news, it’s better to tell people what’s up. You might get blow back, but at least you’ve been transparent. I understand there are dynamics globally at play here, but if we’re really struggling to find a [recycling] partner, then tell people that.”
Council President Kevin Kelley hadn’t been aware of the specifics either. He appeared on a City Club virtual forum Friday morning and was asked about the truthfulness of the Fox 8 report. Kelley said he could not confirm — he had not seen the story — but he echoed Jackson’s comments about the global market.
“What we as a community need to be ready for is that recycling is different than when it started,” he said. “The value of recycled goods has diminished tremendously. There was a point, when we started our recycling program, where companies would pay us to take our recycling. Now, we probably have to pay people to take it. We have a community education issue as well. Only about 15 percent of Clevelanders properly recycle.”
This defeatist market pragmatism sure doesn’t sound like the rhetoric we should expect from elected leaders in The Green City on a Blue Lake, leaders who for years have sermonized on the importance of sustainability. In addition to the flagrant transparency issues here, both Kelley’s and Jackson’s remarks lend the impression that Cleveland only cares about sustainability when it’s profitable to do so.
It goes without saying that this revelation is a kick in the teeth to the 15 percent of residents who recycle properly, but it’s also an insult to all those who have tried to do so genuinely, who have recognized that small individual actions can make a difference on the environment when we all act together.
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This article appears in Apr 29 – May 5, 2020.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT I CAN PUT THESE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE SAVING HEALTHCARE?
And they have been writing tickets to people that don’t recycle correctly. 400k dollars of them in the first three months.
This same a**hole said he was gonna fine residents for not recycling properly. Our fearless leader harbors gang activity in his own home and interferes with court hearings involving his relatives. If you can’t see this you are as dumb as they come but as a whole we keep voting this scumbag in. In his only sentiments if ain’t broke don’t change it, well the whole thing is a disaster full of inadequate scum. Our roads are shit, we still have coin meters, programs are over budget and underperforming, councilman are overpaid and worthless, fat cats draining the system, Cleveland Your Not that Cool, time for a change. Being uninformed and not caring makes you part of the problem. We need to dispose of this administration, all of them, not knowing and being negligent won’t get you out of a speeding ticket but we pay these idiots and accept this from them.
This is an a big surprise coming from Texas and Jackson???
Once again, all these crooks know how to do is to tax, tax, and tax so that they can waste it all on more and more of their cronies and criminal relatives!!!
Until cooks like he and thief Budish are finally, and forcibly, removed from office and sent right to jail, Nothing would likely ever change around here except paying more and more taxes to fund more and more of their never ending shenanigans!!!
Damn betcha this revelation is a kick in the ASS to the 15 percent of residents who recycle properly, and it’s also an insult to all those who have tried to do so genuinely, Why the hell is it such a problem for the remaining 85 percent? It’s not rocket science or brain surgery, fer chrissakes.
Even a graduate of the Cleveland schools should be able to follw “da rulz.” Even a dropout shouldn’t be so confoozed. It’s not just that the bottom dropped out of the market for recycled material. Hell, even before that happened, idjits couldn’t figure out what goes into the blue can and what goes into the black can, or which can is which.
My wife used to tutor kindergarteners who were falling behind or who even had to repeat the whole shebang. They didn’t know colors or shapes, let along the letters of the alphabet. So they grew up not knowing treasures from trash. I’m quite shocked that such a high percentage citzens of Cleveland seem to be so stupid, but am I surprised? Hell, no!
If the virus doesn’t drown you in your own fluids, you’ll be buried in your own crap.
Sam no where is it mentioned when the city stopped fining residents for not recycling properly. We know only “certain” neighborhoods got fined anyway, but did they stop the fines?
Only 15% recycled properly, we have a city full of idiots, at least 85%. Unbelievable folks can’t rinse out a can or bottle.
A lot of those non-recyclers are, I’m sure, renters, who make up 58% of Cleveland residents, and whose landlords don’t offer a recycling option.
Oh, wait, I forget, I’m talking to Cleveland Scene commenters.
A lot of those non-recyclers are, I’m sure, renters, who make up 58% of Cleveland residents, and whose landlords don’t offer a recycling option. And your all a bunch of pinhead dingbat morans.
What recycling option does a landlord provide? The city provides the recycle can, it’s up to the individual to recycle. Do you expect the landlord recycle your crap?
How about we get our money back for the fee we pay every month for leasing these damn cans!!! We are forced to pay for these cans and theres no recycling??? What the hell??? I want my money back, NOW!!!
The city does NOT provide recycling bins for individuals living in apartment buildings, you pinhead dingbat moran. Landlords are legally responsible for providing garbage removal (e.g. dumpsters) for any housing unit bigger than a triplex. Cleveland only provides two drop-off locations for recycling, you pinhead dingbat moran.
http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofClev… you pinhead dingbat moran.
Yeah, the Landlords get fined for the actions/inaction of their Section 8 Gibbmedats tentants.
We shouldn’t have to pay the “trash fee” any more and should be refunded what we paid.
On top of that, any money is some money. Why wait for a “reasonable” amount.
58% of renters don’t live in units bigger than a triplex,,,,moran,,,,lol,,,were talking home’s, you know where most people rent,,,,were not talking the estates or villages,,,moran,,,,
Recycling is and has always been a joke.
It has nothing to do with saving the planet or reducing what is dumped into landfills. It was all about selling the plastic, glass and metals for a profit. Now that the market has dried up, there is nothing to do but dump it into the landfill.
Time to disband the Cuyahoga Solid Waste District too. It is nothing more than a dumping ground for relatives and friends of politicians.
This is simply the latest in a long, sad line of how Northeast Ohio has become a Potemkin Village. We hear that important cities have pro sports, so we bankrupt ourselves to keep them around. We hear that big time cities have convention centers, so we build one that doesn’t host conventions. We hear that folks want downtown parks, so we redo Public Square, but leave a road going through it. We put in bike lanes without street sweeping, and have a freeway running through a lakefront park.
When are we going to stop pretending and be what we actually are: A proud little rust belt town that is full of tough, good-hearted people who build things. Let’s build from that, instead of pretending we are a little New York or something.
When are we going to stop pretending we’re improving and admit what we actually are: A shrinking rust belt town that is full of tough, good-hearted die-hards who either can’t leave or don’t want to leave because they have deep roots here, some going back to the Eighties…as in the 1880s. That’s not necessarily a bad thing…family ties are what helped build America.
New York? We’re not in that league and never have been. More like a miniature Chicago. Same kind of history, same kind of neighborhoods, same kind of crime and corruption and nepotism, same kind of people.
And stop pretending and smirking that we aren’t doing as poorly as Detroit, because in many ways, we are. Face it and fix it, or continue to shrink and decay and go down the same road as Southeast Michigan has gone. They’re now a big doughnut surrounding a deep hole. That’s what we will become. And sooner, rather than later.
Recycling failures are just one of the symptoms of the disease. When cities start being buried in their own waste, they’re in deep shit. Laugh at the pun, but the reality is not very funny, especially to those who live in it.
Actually a lot of the US is throwing out their recycling. Here is a fun planet money podcast about it. China stopped buying the recycled plastics so everywhere needs to find new places to sell it.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/12/741283641/episode-926-so-should-we-recycle
If this is the case why is the city spending money on having both recycling pickup and trash pickup? Put it all in the same container and lay off half of the employees. Everyone saves money at that point…
Single stream recycling doesn’t work as intended anywhere. Change recycling to aluminum only, the other materials are just trash.
I don’t understand how it’s possible that Council didn’t know about this. They have to approve every contract. Did nobody notice that there wasn’t one for recycling this year? Isn’t there a committee on “Development, Planning, and Sustainability”? Why is Kerry McCormack depending on me to tell him what’s going on at City Hall?
Help me out here. What is City Council for if they don’t have even the most basic information about the functions of city government?
And with the latest ma$$ive Metrohealth Property tax levy renewal AND increase that just passed yesterday, how are homeowners going to afford paying even more property taxes that are already outrageous???
Yeah, keep crooks like Taxin Jackson and thief Budish and this is exactly what we will get, paying more and more and more taxes for more and more and more of their neverending shenanigans and blatant waste of taxpayer money!!!
The mentality of the city leaders isn’t that much different from most Americans including most of you reading this. Think about it. How many people would be out bitching if instead of hearing the recycling was going to a dump, they heard the city was spending $10M on recycling?
“We need to recycle to save the plant!!!!” Wait, what’s that? Recycling costs 4 times as much as just throwing it away? “YOU need to recycle. I’m not because it’s expensive, but YOU do or you’re killing the planet”.
same as:
“We need to do something about these horrible industrial food processors” Wait, you’re telling me open range eggs are $5/dozen? “YOU need to support the local farmer. I’m buying my dozen eggs for 99 cents at Marc’s”
or:
“We need to buy American! Save our jobs!!!” Wait, what’s that? The American version of my TV will cost me $5 grand if you can even find one? “YOU need to buy American, but I’m going to Walmart and getting my $499 4K TV”.
You could go on and on. We (this country) are all about convenient social causes. As long as it doesn’t inconvenience me or make me uncomfortable, I’m all in……
Sold my house in Cleveland last year and exited Cuyahoga County.
The best quality of life decision I’ve ever made in my life. Why anyone would choose to endure these levels of incompetence bred with corruption bred with contempt for their Citizenry, is beyond me.
I could no longer sleep at night knowing that my tax dollars paid these salaries and funded their retarded brain children.
If.ypu don’t demand better, you all deserve exactly what you get.
If.ypu don’t demand better, you all deserve exactly what you get.
So rather than demanding better you fled,,,,,way to go.
That levy $$ is needed to pad the bottom line of Metro Health, to the tune of $34 Million annually. Those large executive bonuses and generous pay raises don’t come out of thin air!
Recycling by the city stopped quite a while ago, apparently.
City Hall just never bothered to tell the citizens about it.
Hell, even the City Council didn’t know. Fox-8 had to tell them!
It’s a toss-up…are Frank and His Rat Pack devious mofos…or just stupid ones?
Frank and his devious mofos are just stupid,,whenever ANY big contract, like recycling comes up the city always hires a consultant, so the folks were paying at city hall to actually do this type of work must not be smart enough to do it themselves. This happens in all departments.
Between the corruption draining an already sick city, and the devastation corona will bring, home values in cuyahoga county will be crushed.
Think Budish is going to revalue your home lower? Not a chance.
Like a poster above said, we are not a big city, and it is time to stop letting ourselves get played.
Look at sports and visitor leader GILBERT. What’s he make, $400k? We have no sports and no visitors for a year. He should be the first one laid off.
What a waste.
They should just throw it all in the lake. Or ship it down to summit county which is already a trash filled shit hole
That levy $$ is needed to pad the bottom line of Metro Health, to the tune of $34 Million annually. Those large executive bonuses and generous pay raises don’t come out of thin air!
Good thing the levy passed,,,your gonna need help once you break down.
don’t forget white elephant Medmart that’s never used
Frank and His Rat Pack can’t even pick up the trash regularly anymore. Too many times I’ve had to call the city because they emptied my neighbors’ black cans on all sides of me and skipped my house. Happened again today. Waste collection in this city is a fucking joke.
You won’t see a blue can in my driveway anymore…not until the jamokes at City Hall get their shit together and end this madness. I don’t need your steenkeeng can, Frank…there are alternatives to allowing this joke of a city to dump my recyclables in a landfill. I have already found other places to take them, and I will find even more.
You and your clown-car cronies manage to foul up everything you touch…trash, recycling, leaf pickup, yard waste pickup, bulk pickups, street resurfacing, and snow removal. It is what it is what it is.
You’re a joke, Frank…and you’ve turned this town into a shithole city more and more every year. No wonder dozens leave for the suburbs every goddam day.
I don’t live in Cleveland, I live in Shaker Heights. With that acknowledgement, it seems a little rich laying all this hate at Jackson and Budish’s door when hardly any of us would pay the taxes needed to begin recycling all the plastic bottles we use (potential business for entrepreneurial Clevelanders: just sayin’, figure out how to reduce and reuse plastic waste!).
How many of the whiners above scrupulously avoid buying stuff packed in plastic (especially bottled water), thus reducing your consumption? If you do, fantastic – keep it up. Otherwise, stop moaning and turn those eyes inward. NO ONE wants to pay the cost of making recycling work.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi could commit to using only glass bottles and aluminum cans, but will they? I don’t hear any loud cries for these two companies to change their ways. What huge companies do best is externalize the losses (read: we all pay taxes in a dozen ways for their unwillingness to become more sustainable!), and hoard the profits (read: do we make money off of their enormous profits? Do they employ huge numbers of Ohioans at a livable wage?).
Anyone who has been paying attention lately would know that only about 10% of our plastic has EVER been recycled. It’s recyclable – but too expensive to recycle. And don’t blame our politicians for China’s understandable lack of continued interest in being buried under our trash. We need to stop creating it.