The city of Portland will explore privatizing the collection of its trash and recyclables as part of a review that is expected to bring major changes to a waste management program that has become increasingly unpopular with residents and municipal officials.
The City Council will hold a workshop June 13 to begin discussing options. Plans to modernize the city’s solid waste system have been talked about for years, and the debate comes as the program has drawn complaints and criticism about litter from no-lid recycling bins, rising prices for the city-required trash bags and public works employees who were caught on video dumping trash and recycling into the same garbage truck.
“I don’t hear anyone wanting to keep the system we currently have. The only question now is what is the best option for Portland to move forward,” said Councilor Ed Suslovic, who sits on the Energy and Sustainability Committee.
Advocates of modernizing waste-handling operations say Portland’s system is outdated compared with nearby communities such as South Portland and Westbrook. And although it’s not yet clear what city officials will decide, the change could come relatively soon. The city hopes to fund a new solid waste system in next year’s budget.
“We are actually lagging behind our peers. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do this,” Suslovic said.
Currently, residents pay $1.35 each for the city’s purple trash bags, which can be left at the curb for pickup. Residents are allowed to recycle as much as they want at no cost, and leave those materials at the curb in blue plastic bins.
The Department of Public Works provides curbside collection for both trash and recycling, using trucks that are each operated by two-person crews. Some trucks are assigned to pick up trash, and other trucks travel the same streets gathering recyclables.
That basic system is likely to change. The city is considering an automated collection system that uses modern trucks with equipment that can pick up curbside bins and empty the trash or recycling into the truck’s compartments.
LAGGING BEHIND NEIGHBOR CITIES
One of the big questions is whether it is more cost-effective to keep using municipal employees to do the collections or to contract with a private company.
And one thing that isn’t likely to change is the requirement that residents pay for the amount of trash they throw out. The city has a relatively high recycling rate – the volume of recyclables collected is equal to about 40 percent of the total volume of trash – and that success is largely attributed to the fees for trash bags. Such pay-per-bag fees are a proven incentive for communities that want to reduce the trash volume and increase recycling.
To read the full story, visit http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/30/portland-looks-at-cart-system-privatization-of-trash-pickup/.