Curbside pickup for recycling in Columbia could resume as early as next month. The Columbia City Council and Solid Waste Utility held a work session on Monday and the topic of recycling was included on the agenda. According to the Utilities Director Dave Sorrell, staffing for the department needs to be at 90% for curbside recycling pickup to start again.
During the meeting, Sorrell revealed that staffing levels are at 71% and the city is currently working on hiring seven people, with three starting next week. If this employment growth continues, Sorrell said the city could see its curbside recycling program to start near the end of February. There are currently 18 vacancies.
“We can’t say for sure when that’s gonna happen,” Columbia Utilities spokesman Matt Nestor said. “What we’re trying to avoid is restarting recycling collection and then running into a situation where we have to stop again.”