Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther’s administration wants to accept the lone bid for curbside recycling and yard-waste collection, even as costs soar for a recycling initiative that has fallen short of expectations.

Columbus City Council will have to approve the five-year, $44.3 million contract with Rumpke, its current collection vendor, at its Monday meeting. The cost is nearly 50 percent higher than the $30.1 million contract approved in 2012 for collections every other week.

“With only getting one bid, the option would have been we accept the bid or we don’t have recycling,” said Jennifer Gallagher, director of the Department of Public Service. “As a city, we didn’t even think that would be a viable option.”

Gallagher said about 80 percent of households recycle, evidence that residents support the program.

The new contract will appear on council’s agenda for the first time Monday, but it was unclear Thursday whether council would vote on it as emergency legislation. Emergency legislation requires council approval but takes effect when the mayor signs it instead of after the normal 30-day wait.

Emergency legislation also requires six of the seven council members to approve it. If legislation isn't voted on as an emergency, five votes are needed.

Rumpke’s current contract expires March 31. If the new contract isn’t finalized before then, collections could stop.

“It’s disappointing that this is the only option we’re faced with," said Councilwoman Elizabeth Brown, who oversees council's environment committee. "The bottom line is we don’t want to discontinue service for residents.”

The city publicly bid the contract for recycling and yard-waste pickup, but Rumpke was the only bidder. In 2012, it beat two other companies to win the original contract.

Gallagher said the city approached Rumpke to negotiate the contract, but it didn’t have any leverage.

“We are going to continue to try to work with them to see if we can find some efficiencies in the program,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a done deal.”

“We will continue to work with the city of Columbus and continue those meetings and discussions to ensure the service is performed to the standards they have come to expect and deserve,” said Jonathan Kissell, a Rumpke spokesman.

The new contract is to include an option for either side to cancel with 180 days' notice.

The previous contract had a similar clause with 90 days' notice, but the city asked for a longer period to give itself more time to find a replacement should Rumpke cancel, said Jeff Ortega, assistant director in the Department of Public Service.

Recycling was a cornerstone program for former Mayor Michael B. Coleman when it launched in 2012. His administration predicted that 227,000 households would be eligible for curbside recycling and that it could save $13 million to $15 million by diverting waste away from the county landfill in the first five years.

But not every house uses a bin, and the savings haven’t been as significant as originally thought. About 201,000 households have recycling bins, and the city has saved about $8.5 million on landfill tipping fees since 2012.

When Coleman proposed the recycling program in 2011, Ginther questioned whether the spending was sustainable as budgets tightened. As city council president at the time, Ginther eventually voted to approve the program.

The rising cost, though, caught Ginther’s administration off guard. In his 2017 budget proposal last fall, Ginther anticipated a 5 percent rise. Rumpke’s bid is 35 percent higher for this year.

Over the life of the contract, the annual cost steadily increases from $8.4 million in 2017 up to $9.4 million in 2021.

The first year of the original contract in 2012 cost the city $5.7 million.

Gallagher said the city plans to continue negotiating with Rumpke during the contract to find other ways to save money. She said she expects to develop changes in the next six months.

Brown said she wants to see revisions “as soon as possible.”

Gallagher said Rumpke’s routes might be changed to save money, and the city will consider whether it can cut back yard-waste pickup during the winter.

“Some of it may be small savings here and there that, when you put them all together, become a significant savings,” she said. “Really, right now everything’s on the table except for having less service to the citizens on the recycling side."

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rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan