Carbondale environmental board urges targeted use of $80,000 bag-fee reserve for composting pilot and recycling outreach

Carbondale’s Environmental Board presented a set of proposals to the Town Council work session, asking the town to allocate a portion of roughly $80,000 held in the bag-fee fund to expand composting, improve recycling outreach and pilot multifamily compost service.

The board asked the town to “ramp up the use” of the bag-fee fund for 2026 and recommended an initial spend of “maybe possibly between 20 and $25,000,” with a smaller recurring budget of about $8,000–$10,000 annually to sustain the work, Environmental Board member Beth Shoemaker said.

The request would fund four main items: a public-awareness campaign (estimated $2,000) for recycling and composting best practices; a six-month, 50% subsidy for single-family households and restaurants to enroll in curbside composting, intended as an educational onboarding window; a one-year pilot offering free compost service for multifamily dwellings (with bear‑proof enclosures and education); and a training video for event organizers to stage zero-waste…