Summit County’s facility for recycling household hazardous waste could be open four months in 2013.
The plan is to operate the center in Stow from June through September, Yolanda Walker, executive director of the Summit-Akron Solid Waste Management Authority, said Tuesday. That would be one month longer than collections in 2012.
Last year, the center operated from July 1 through Sept. 30 because of the financial problems facing the authority.
It is possible the hours of operation also could be extended in 2013, but that has not been determined, Walker said. The authority is analyzing bid proposals from five companies to operate the center, and hours of operation are part of that process.
She said a final recommendation on an operator and hours probably will be submitted to the authority’s governing board in early January.
Veolia Environmental Services operated the center in recent years, but that contract has expired.
The center has operated from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays at 1201 Graham Road. It began operations in 1996.
In 2012, the center handled 160,438 pounds of household hazardous waste from 3,105 vehicles. Volume fell 70 percent from the 534,334 pounds collected in 2011, but that drop largely was because the center no longer accepts water-based latex paints.
The authority has earmarked about $218,000 to operate the facility in 2013. That is down slightly from the 2012 cost of $231,375.
Also Tuesday, the authority’s governing board approved a budget for 2013 that projects revenue of $2.4 million and expenses of $2.5 million. The authority is expected to tap its carryover balance of $1.8 million to absorb the negative amount of $87,229 next year.
The budget will provide a 2.5 percent pay raise for staffers and a 5 percent cut on money paid to the Summit County Health District for inspections.
In other action, the authority agreed to spend up to $7,800 in 2013 to Akron’s Acroa Corp. for paper-shredding collections in Summit County. The company does business as Neoshred.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.