St. Louis committee pauses alley recycling, will expand staffed drop-off network and audit accounts

The St. Louis Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee on Wednesday discussed the city’s recycling program and accepted a phased plan from the mayor’s office that pauses alley recycling and expands drop-off sites while the city investigates longer-term options.

The committee’s discussion, led by Chief Operating Officer Ben Johnson and legislative staff, centered on high contamination and cost rates in local recycling streams and on ensuring access to services for residents with mobility or transportation limits.

Johnson said the city paused alley recycling after the May 31 tornado recovery work and that, under current practice, “if you have an alley blue dumpster that is, going to landfill.” He told the committee that from January through May 2025 the city’s combined recycling streams had a roughly 52% contamination rate and that when alley dumpsters were removed contamination fell to about 20–25% for roll-cart and drop-off streams.

Why it matters: high contamination means materials collected for recycling are frequently rejected and sent to landfill, increasing costs and reducing environmental benefit. Johnson said recycling disposal costs run about $191 per ton compared with $42 per ton for trash; the refuse division’s annual operating cost is roughly $28 million while billing collections total about $16.5 million, leaving a gap covered by tax revenue.

Under the administration’s immediate, 90-day Phase 1 the city will: continue the pause on alley recycling; add at least 13 staffed, multi-material drop-off sites to the current 25 (a roughly 50% increase) with the stated goal of placing a drop-off within about one mile of most residences; audit customer accounts to confirm fee coverage for provided services; mark alley dumpsters clearly so residents know they are currently for trash; and pursue workforce and routing improvements plus a grant-funded equipment modernization program for trucks and in-cab tablets.

Legislative staff presented comparisons from 13 U.S. cities and international models, highlighting that many higher-diversion cities rely on roll carts or staffed multi-stream drop-off locations and, in some cases, mandates or deposit-return systems. Speakers and organizations at the hearing urged the city to restore accessible curbside or alley pickup in the long term and to form a citizen task force to develop a “zero waste” plan.

Dr. Jessica Watson, executive director of Earth Day 365, urged the committee not to treat the alley pause as permanent and proposed a public recycling task force with a six-month report timeline. "Residential recycling is a basic public resource that all of our citizens deserve," she said.

Public commenters consistently raised access concerns for elderly residents, people with disabilities and apartment dwellers who may lack transportation or storage to use drop-off sites; several speakers also called for better pay and staffing for refuse workers to improve collection reliability.

The committee did not vote on a policy change to restore alley or curbside recycling during the meeting; members encouraged continued community engagement, directed the administration to return data as Phase 1 proceeds, and supported a task-force model to vet longer-term proposals. The committee approved minutes for March 19 and July 2 as its recorded procedural vote for the session.