Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Works proposes return to biweekly curbside bulk pickup; aims to curb contractor abuse and adjust fees
Summary
Public Works staff proposed restoring free biweekly curbside bulk pickup with a revised fee schedule after reporting contractor and landlord exploitation of the citizens convenience center; the plan would restrict bulk drop-off at the CCC, close the facility January–March and increase per‑bucket fees for additional pickups.
Sue McLaughlin, who oversees Bloomington Public Works, presented proposed changes to the city’s bulk waste program to the City Council committee of the whole.
McLaughlin said the city moved bulk disposal largely to the Citizens Convenience Center (CCC) in 2018 and has since observed what staff characterize as exploitation: contractors, landlords and others bringing multiple large loads to the CCC without paying, and several documented instances of large, repeated drops.
"We're finding that contractors, landlords, junkers, people that turn over properties, who actually live within the city or have participated in our solid waste program, they can come in and drop loads for free," McLaughlin said. She said staff has seen as many as 13 mattresses in a single drop and multiple trailers lined up to dump, and that curbside piles placed in advance of the city’s biannual pickup create nuisance and pest concerns.
To reduce abuse and improve efficiency, staff proposed returning to a biweekly curbside bulk pickup model in which the first "bucket" (roughly the size of a couch or a couple of dressers) would be free and additional buckets would be charged: $30 for a second bucket, $60 for a third and $90 for a fourth. The city would raise the per‑bucket rate (it has been $25 since 2009) and would keep the $100 contractor bucket for permitted contractor loads. Staff also recommended suspending curbside pickup during leaf-collection operations (with case-by-case pickup available on request), limiting the CCC to yard waste and recycling (no bulk drop-off), and closing the CCC from January through March to redeploy seasonal staff to snow removal, street sweeping and other tasks.
McLaughlin said the CCC model produced relatively steady tonnage across months and did not reduce overall disposal enough to justify continuing the current operation in its present form. She said the proposed changes could also enable hiring or reallocating staff to run an additional street sweeper; Public Works currently aims to sweep every street about 12 times per year.
Council members asked operational questions. Member Ward praised the recent bulk pickup execution and asked about appointment-based pickups for appliances; staff said residents can call for appliance pickup and the city will coordinate a service vendor. Member Lee asked about coordination with downtown events and the farmers market if sweepers or other operations change; staff said they would coordinate with downtown organizers and that the city does not run the farmers market.
McLaughlin said staff intends to return an ordinance to the council in November (or one of the November meetings) to implement the proposed changes; no ordinance vote was taken at the presentation. The proposal includes an outreach and communications plan if the council approves moving forward.
