This week saw a discussion on social media which saw Indianapolis residents fuming over the rise in their recycling bill. According to some Indy locals, their annual bill had risen 25% compared to last year. Many put the blame on WM, who bought the recycling contract from Ray’s last year. Furthermore, it looks as though the recycling service hasn’t improved either, so why has it risen so sharply in such a short period of time?

According to one savvy local, there was a simple answer – which lies in hard economics and not much else. They said, “Ray’s does not have shareholders. Waste Management has shareholders. There’s your answer.” Put simply, when WM took over, there was a bigger incentive to raise their overall income, whereas this wasn’t the case with Ray’s. Of course, this isn’t what many locals would like to hear, but it also makes sense. Overall, you can see why people are mad though as this adds yet more strain on people’s monthly bills.

What’s worse, is that others even went as far to say that since the takeover, their recycling collection has been irregular and isn’t as consistent as it once was. Whether there’s any truth in this is unknown – but unsurprisingly, people are happy.

At the same time, there is some hope for those seeking solutions. As one person put it, “Vote. Every chance you get, vote. In the primary, vote. When it’s literally one person and one referendum question, vote (especially then because it carries more weight)” While this may not be the coolest answer in the world, it’s probably the people’s best option at the moment. However, until then it looks like Indy recycling bills are set to be higher than ever.