Longview staff: dropping curbside recycling saves little short term; 2030 state law and contract changes complicate shift to drop-off sites

Nick, a city staff member, told the Longview City Council at a workshop Monday that switching from curbside recycling to municipal drop-off centers would yield some near-term operating savings but would not eliminate rate pressure and would require significant capital and contract work.

The presentation, billed as an analysis of solid-waste rates and options for the coming years, examined a baseline assumption of three drop-off locations with four containers each (glass, cardboard, mixed paper and metal), a 50% reduction in recycling volume after removing curbside service and a resulting 20% increase in garbage disposal volume. Using those assumptions, staff estimated annual hauling, rental and maintenance costs for the three sites of about $491,000; an estimated metal recycling credit of roughly $10,000 per year; a reduction in sorting costs (about half of 2024 sorting costs under the 50% assumption); and a net, across-the-board annual savings in the ballpark of $180,000 compared with current operations, after accounting for higher disposal costs.

Nut graf: The fiscal picture is complicated. Staff said the savings from ending curbside recycling are limited once increased landfill/disposal costs, the contractor’s capital investments, the cost to develop drop-off sites and equity/access concerns are included — and that Washington law and upcoming…