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Defiance, Fulton, Paulding & Williams (Four County) Joint Solid Waste Management District In 1988, Ohio’s legislature passed House Bill 592, this legislature
updated Ohio’s 20-year old solid waste law that would now require a planning process at
both the local and state government levels. The
goals of this planning process are to ensure that there is adequate and environmentally
sound management capacity for Ohio’s solid waste and to increase the efforts of Ohio’s
communities, businesses and industries to reduce and recycle solid wastes. House Bill 592 required the Director of the Ohio EPA, with the advice
of the Solid Waste Management Advisory Council (SWAC), to prepare a State Solid Waste
Management Plan to meet specific requirements established in the statute.
It also required all counties in Ohio to establish Solid Waste Management Districts
(SWMDs), either independently or jointly with other counties.
ALL SWMDs are required to develop and implement their own solid waste management
plans that comply with the goals established in the State Plan. Ohio has eighty-eight counties that have structured into fifty-two
Solid Waste Management Districts. Of the
fifty-two SWMDs in Ohio, thirty-seven are single county districts and fifteen are
multi-county (joint) districts. (See Ohio Solid Waste District Map). Our four county solid waste district is comprised of Defiance,
Fulton, Paulding and Williams counties and is named the Four County Joint Solid Waste
Management District. Mr. Tim Houck is the Coordinator for this district and can be
reached at thouck@defiance-county.com or
(419) 782-5442. Mr. Otto L. Nicely is the
Chairman of the district and also County Commissioner for Defiance.
He can be reached at (419) 782-4761. Additional
information per each county in the district can be obtained by clicking on the county of
choice below. Each solid waste management district (SWMD) is required to develop a
solid waste management district plan in order to determine the solid waste management
needs of the district and provide an agenda for implementation of programs to meet those
needs. These plans must achieve certain goals
established in the State Plan. Typically a
plan contains descriptions of the type and quantity of solid wastes generated in the
district, current landfill disposal and recycling activities that take place and
descriptions of the reduction and recycling programs that will be implemented in the
future. The Four County Joint Solid Waste District’s plan is for 15 years.
It must be reviewed and updated every five years.
Our plan was approved by the Ohio EPA in 2001 and is in the process of being
updated in 2006. This is a lengthy process.
A draft plan must be developed that maintains the Ohio EPA’s requirements,
conforms to the State Plan, and meets all legislature/state laws. An inventory of existing
facilities must be taken, estimates developed of the waste generated, what and where it is
disposed of within the district and projections of future facilities and waste management
must be defined. Strategies need to be developed, discussed, implemented or proposed to
meet the recycling goals of the state: 25% for residential/commercial waste and 50% for
industrial waste. Plans also need to contain
possible ideas to reduce the amount of waste generated at the source, how to manage
restricted waste such as yard waste, lead acid batteries and tires and handling of
hazardous waste. This is just for the ‘update draft’ plan that will then be submitted
to the Ohio EPA. The Ohio EPA reviews the
‘update draft’ and makes recommendations. A 30 day public comment period also takes
place allowing the district citizens to review the plan, ask questions, propose
suggestions, etc. After updating the plan per
public and Ohio EPA suggestions (if valid) the Ohio EPA director either approves or
disapproves the plan. Once the plan is
approved, it is declared to be ratified by the district policy committee.
If the plan is disapproved, the district has 90 days to revise, re-ratify and
resubmit a plan. The Four County Joint Solid Waste Management District has met or exceeded the state’s recycling requirements. Industries in this district set a fine example for the residential and commercial sectors to follow. Not only did industry work diligently to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill, it worked hard to recapture waste products and profit from them in a variety of ways. The Four County Joint Solid Waste Management District intends to continue providing education and facilitating the programs necessary for recycling, composting and source reducing waste. This will be achieved by continuing to offer residents, businesses and industry an assortment of successful programs, including curbside recycling, permanent recycling, container/drop-off facilities, and rotating recycling programs. If you would like more information on the Four County Joint Solid Waste Management District please contact the Coordinator, Tim Houck, at (419)-782-5442. |
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