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Council gives head nod to 2.6% SaniPAC rate increase; staff previews statewide Recycling Modernization Act changes
Summary
Springfield staff and SaniPAC representatives explained a proposed 2.6% annual rate increase and detailed how Oregon's new Recycling Modernization Act will change local recycling collections; council signaled informal support and asked staff to return June 2 with a public hearing and adoption package.
Springfield staff introduced SaniPAC's annual rate request and a presentation on the incoming Recycling Modernization Act, and council informally signaled support for a staff-recommended 2.6% rate increase while requesting the full fees-and-charges package for a June 2 public hearing.
Jeff Paschal, who introduced the item as staff, said the 2.6% request aligns with last year's inflationary factors and that SaniPAC's labor costs had risen even as the firm kept its request to CPI. Aaron Donnelly of SaniPAC and interim district manager Chris Welker described the Recycling Modernization Act (RMA), which takes effect July 1 and requires producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to fund recycling collection, depot networks and statewide outreach through an entity called the Circular Action Alliance, with oversight by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Donnelly explained the RMA's aims: simplify acceptance statewide via a single statewide acceptance list, reduce contamination, guarantee accountable end markets, and require certified processors to track where materials are ultimately recycled. Under the program, producers will fund depot networks sized to local populations, reimburse transport when processors are more than 50 miles away, and provide an estimated $3 per capita for statewide education and outreach. Donnelly said SaniPAC already accepts many items on the new statewide list and highlighted newly accepted materials such as nursery plant packaging, small scrap metal (<10 lb), aseptic cartons, and certain plastic buckets and pails.
Councilors asked about cost pass-through to consumers, reporting requirements, and depot logistics. Councilor Stout and others expressed concern that producers may pass costs to consumers; Donnelly said that outcome has been discussed but definitive consumer impacts remain unclear. Staff confirmed the funding is a state pass-through with quarterly reporting requirements and told council that SaniPAC will compile impacts and return with final estimates.
Council gave an informal "head nod" to the staff-recommended 2.6% increase and Paschal said the complete master fees and charges list — including the public hearing notice — will return to council on June 2 for formal adoption. Paschal also described the practical changes the RMA may bring to Springfield: new depot options for hard-to-recycle items, potential subsidies for transport to distant certified processors, and statewide education branded "Recycle On Oregon." No formal vote was taken at the work session.
