At the Tuesday meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, discussion continued between the board, Washington City Officials, and Lynn Whaley who represented WEMIGA Waste, regarding their current agreement.

With the status of the recyclables market, Whaley is looking to amend the contract because his business is losing money handling materials like plastic and paper. When all parties entered the agreement, this was not the case and was an unforeseen circumstance. Discussion continued between the three groups regarding restructure, including whether a reimbursement figure would be based on net profit or loss for the monthly time period or by material category and how those final figures would be gathered.

Board member Jack Seward Jr. said, “Currently, we don’t address any cost of recycling, because at the time the contract was made up there was money in it. The entire cost of the operation was split between the city and the county. The market has changed around now to where there is no money in it.”

WEMIGA owner Lynn Whaley stated, “When we took over, obviously there was money in recycling. With the trade things that have taken place there are now things within recycling that are costing to dispose of those items. If it starts costing to get rid of cardboard, then there’s going to be a cost to get rid of cardboard. If there is a disposal fee for any of product, I would want a disposal fee.”

Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer clarified that the point in discussion was not a net.

The board advised legal council to review the current agreement and amend to include reimbursement based on material category for their review at Tuesday’s meeting.