Staff proposes downtown shared-dumpster plan; would boost pickups and add secured cardboard bins

Stillwater — Waste Management staff presented a downtown waste-improvement plan Aug. 18 that aims to reduce alley clutter, improve cleanliness and limit illegal dumping by consolidating low-volume dumpster service into labeled shared units and increasing pickup frequency. "It is a problem because we run into the issues of smell, overloaded dumpsters," Matt Faulkner, the city's waste management director, said when describing challenges in the corridor between Sixth and Tenth avenues from Husband to Lewis. Faulkner told trustees the corridor contains 71 dumpsters serving 118 customers and that more than half of those dumpsters are currently serviced only once per week. Under the proposal, staff would consolidate low-volume customers into a set of labeled, shared dumpsters and replace existing cardboard dumpsters with new blue containers with yellow, lockable lids that permit cardboard to be slid through a slot but prevent opening of the full lid. Staff said the shared dumpsters for low-volume users would be collected three times per week, raising weekly cubic-yard collection in the corridor from about 134 to an estimated 180 cubic yards for the low-volume classification. Faulkner said high-volume customers (restaurants and hospitality businesses) would be excluded from the shared program and retain their individual service levels. Staff also proposed a single monthly fee for the low-volume classification; specific fee adjustments would be part of a later comprehensive waste-fee update. Why it matters: The downtown corridor contains many closely spaced businesses and dumpsters; staff said consolidation, increased frequency and lockable cardboard bins should reduce litter, nuisance odors and illegal dumping while improving alley access for deliveries and pickup. Next steps: Staff will return with fee recommendations as part of a broader rate update and implement the initial operational changes and roll-out with labeled dumpsters and the secured cardboard containers.