ELKINS — Elkins City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would establish a limit on the number of garbage bags that city sanitation services will collect from customers.

The nine members of council in attendance approved the first reading of Ordinance 345 during its June 12 meeting. Ordinance 345 will impose a bag limit for city sanitation customers, stipulated as:

12 kitchen-type trash bags which are the maximum size of 13 gallons or;

Six larger trash bags which are the maximum size of 30 gallons or;

Three contractor bags which are the maximum size of 55 gallons.

The ordinance also states that no trash bag should weigh more than 30 lbs and that any bags “beyond the specified limits for each category” shall not be collected by the Sanitation Department on the weekly day of service.

If the ordinance is passed during the second reading at the council’s June 26 meeting, the change will not go into effect until Sept. 1 to allow the city time to publicize it for customers.

Before the vote, Elkins City Operations Manager Michael Kesecker explained to the council that the main driver behind the need for a bag limit was illegal dumping.

“What’s driving (Ordinance 345) is, basically, any other company, entity that provides sanitation services… they have bag limits,” Kesecker said. “And what we’re finding inside of the city limits, because we don’t have a bag limit, hypothetically speaking, I don’t live inside of city limits, Councillor (Christopher) Lowther does. ‘Hey, bud, can I bring my trash over and drop it off?’ ‘Sure.’ He’s got 12 bags sitting in front of his house, that drives our tipping fee up when we take it to the transfer station. So, therefore, we are paying for someone’s trash that isn’t paying a fee to use our service.”

Kesecker said he felt confident that a bag limit will help the city cut back on expenses. He also stated that, despite the city receiving a rate increase from the transfer station and the construction of the city’s new $1.5 million sanitation garage, the cost of all that has not been passed on to city sanitation customers, and that the bag limit will, hopefully, continue to ensure that costs are not passed on to customers.

“That’s ultimately our goal,” Kesecker said. “To continue to provide good, professional service without raising the rates.”

Kesecker admitted that there will be some “growing pains” afterwards if the ordinance is passed, citing the possibility of waiving the limit during the holidays. The limit, Kesecker explained, is consistent with other entities and counties, such as Tucker County.

Third Ward Council Member Christopher Lowther, who is on the Rules and Ordinances Committee and who has worked with Kesecker on the ordinance, explained that he has spoken with other sanitation providers about Elkins’ lack of a bag limit.

“If you talk to other sanitation companies, providers, managers, they will tell you, they don’t know how the City of Elkins has gotten away with (not having a bag limit) as long as they have and not went bankrupt,” Lowther said.

Fifth Ward Council Member Cody Thompson questioned how the ordinance will come into play if someone were to use different sized bags at the same time instead of just 12 or less kitchen-sized or just six or less regular-sized bags. Kesecker explained that he plans to sit down with the city’s Sanitation Department supervisor and staff to go over the finer details and figure out a way to monitor the new limit so no one will abuse it. He also mentioned the use of discretion on the part of the garbage collectors.

When asked by Thompson as to what happens to the bags that go over the number limit on collection day, Kesecker said they would not be picked up until the next week.

Fourth Ward Council Member Andrew Carroll, who is also on the Rules and Ordinances Committee, called the ordinance and bag limit “super reasonable, super sensible.”

The Elkins City Council will meet again on June 26 at the Phil Gainer Community Center.