The City of Twin Falls will be discussing the city recycling program during the Twin Falls City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, and is seeking public input from city residents about the future of the recycling program.
At the meeting, the Twin Falls City Council will be presented with an update on the current recycling program, as well as options for continuing, limiting, or discontinuing the program. After the update, the City Council will invite residents of Twin Falls to provide their input on the three options.
The purpose of the recycling update and public input period is to learn more about outcomes from current recycling efforts, and whether the current recycle program meets citizens’ expectations. The City Council will gather public input at the meeting and may determine a course of action that better meets the needs of residents.
The City of Twin Falls started a city recycling program in 2005, and then expanded it in 2010 to incorporate single-stream recycling that no longer required residents to sort recyclables. However, in 2017 challenges with declining demand for recyclable materials, rising costs, and contamination made the program unsustainable. Program costs were no longer being offset by revenues from recyclable materials, so part of the increased cost was covered by the city to continue the program.
During the meeting, three options will be presented to City Council that include:
- Continue the current recycling program
- Limit the recycle program to higher value commodities like cardboard, tin, and aluminum
- Discontinue the recycling program
Representatives from PSI Environmental, which the city contracts with to collect garbage and recycling, as well as Southern Idaho Solid Waste will also be at the meeting to answer questions.
Residents who would like to provide public input at the meeting must sign-in on the sheet provided at the council entryway. Speakers are asked to wait to be recognized by the Mayor, then approach the podium and state their name and address of their Twin Falls’ residence. Comments should be limited to no more than 2 minutes, and individuals are not permitted to give their speaking time to other speakers.