Why does curbside recycling cost additional money?
The curbside recycling program entails an additional fee of $2.50 per month per household. This fee was calculated by the Department of Public Works and includes all anticipated expenses – additional labor, additional garbage truck usage and maintenance, recycling bins, education program, etc. Note that the monthly fee is much lower than originally proposed because Public Works was able to negotiate free delivery of the City’s recyclables to the Vista Fibers sort center. This fee was added to the garbage fee on households’ monthly “water bill” due in October 2006. As the curbside recycling program matures and participation rates increase, the City may be able to begin to separate some recyclables (e.g., newspaper or aluminum) from the commingled stream and negotiate directly with buyers to capture revenue and reduce sort-center fees. Also, the volume of garbage going to the landfill will decrease, possibly driving the overall monthly solid waste costs down.
