Pocatello council approves new recycling contract, staff says change gives city flexibility to follow volatile market

Pocatello City Council approved a recycling services agreement with Waste Management of Utah Inc. that gives the city flexibility to route single-stream material to different processors based on monthly market prices.

The council voted to accept staff recommendations on the contract during its March meeting. Council Member Cheatham made the motion and Council President Lyric seconded; the roll call vote was recorded as unanimous approval.

Council and staff described the change as intended to follow recycling market prices. Tom Kirkman, director of public services, told the council that market rates for single-stream recycling fluctuate month to month and that having the ability to “pick which way better serves the city” could yield significant savings. Kirkman gave an example: in one month Republic Services quoted $81.83 per ton while Waste Management quoted $57.49 per ton. He said the city also had recent savings by diverting cardboard, noting a figure of $17.16 per ton for cardboard in the last month.

A member of the public who identified himself as Tom asked why the city was changing service providers when he thought the program had been “really good.” Kirkman replied the new contract would not permanently cut off any processor but would allow staff to send material to the processor offering the best rate for that month. He added Waste Management’s Salt Lake sorting facility is more sophisticated and may accept more types of plastics, but accepting more material could also commit the city to a given processor; the new arrangement preserves options.

Council members pressed for assurances that collection and the drop-off program would continue. Kirkman said the recycling program is “chugging along,” that the city is receiving additional material from residential and commercial sources including INL and regional drop-off, and that staff is actively developing a commercial cardboard program to bring further savings.

The motion approved the agreement and authorized the mayor’s signature on documents subject to legal review. The contract terms recorded in the meeting packet were summarized by staff during discussion; the council did not identify any changes to household collection service schedules during the meeting.

Votes at a glance: the council recorded a unanimous roll-call vote in favor of the agreement; specific recorded “yes” responses came from the members present during the roll call.

Staff and speakers

- Tom Kirkman, Director of Public Services (City of Pocatello) — explained market rationale and pricing examples. - Resident (Tom) — asked why the city was changing recycling processors. - Council Member Cheatham — moved to approve the agreement. - Council President Lyric — seconded the motion.

Why it matters

Local recycling markets are volatile; cities that can redirect material to the lowest-cost processor from month to month may reduce net program costs. Council approval gives Pocatello staff the authority to pursue that approach while the council continues to receive updates.