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Staff recommends Helena Recycling continue source-separated curbside recycling at $22 per household; city subsidy reduces customer fee
Summary
Staff recommended renewing a source-separated curbside recycling contract with Helena Recycling LLC at $22 per household per month; the city currently subsidizes $8.20 to reduce the subscriber cost to $8 monthly.
City sustainability staff told the Helena City Commission on Oct. 1 that staff recommends accepting Helena Recycling LLC’s proposal to continue source-separated curbside recycling, preserving glass collection and the current set of commodities.
Sustainability and recycling coordinator Jacobson presented the contract options and costs, saying staff recommended the source-separated option at $22 per month per subscriber and noted glass would continue to be collected in that option. Jacobson said staff also received a proposal for single-stream service priced at $24.95 per month that would not include glass.
Jacobson told commissioners the city currently provides an $8.20 monthly subsidy per subscriber. “Currently, the subsidy is $8.20 provided by the city. And so that drops the subscriber's cost down to $8. The current overall cost is $16.20,” Jacobson said.
Commissioners asked procedural and operational questions, including whether a separately procured glass crusher would change the curbside contract; Jacobson and staff said the planned glass crusher (for the transfer station) would not alter the contract terms for curbside collection.
Why it matters: The recommendation affects monthly costs for households that subscribe to curbside recycling and preserves curbside glass collection under the source-separated option staff prefers.
No formal vote on contract approval was recorded during the meeting. Staff presented the recommendation and answered commissioners’ questions; further action or formal contract approval was not included in the meeting record.
The staff presentation also noted the Helena Recycling proposal was the only qualified response to the RFP; staff provided pricing for both source-separated and single-stream service.
