Joshua City Council directs staff to pursue twice-weekly automated trash service without citywide recycling fee

The Joshua City Council spent the bulk of its work session on solid-waste service options presented by Abel Marino, district manager for Waste Connections, and directed staff to pursue a contract reflecting Option 3 — twice-weekly automated trash collection without citywide recycling — with a formal contract to be brought back to the council for review and vote.

Waste Connections’ Abel Marino told the council, “We’ve been your service provider since 2000,” and laid out five service scenarios ranging from maintaining current service with a price increase to moving to once-a-week pickup with or without recycling. He presented specific rate impacts: Option 1 (current service with a price increase) would increase the per-household charge by $11.24; Option 2 would increase it by $3.74; Option 3 would increase it by $0.74; Option 4 would lower it by $0.51; and Option 5 would lower it by $3.51. Marino also described an updated commercial rate of $5.96 per yard and a proposed roll-off rate of $501 per haul (from the current $368 per haul). He said curbside carts would be supplied to each household and that an additional cart would carry a $7-per-month fee.

The discussion focused on trade-offs between cost, service frequency, recycling participation and operational issues. Marino and councilmembers repeatedly raised staffing and safety concerns: Marino said high turnover and road hazards are increasing costs and insurers’ exposures. Councilmembers and several residents said twice-weekly pickup is popular locally and that moving to once-weekly collection would provoke strong public pushback. Several councilmembers suggested transitioning to automated carts first and revisiting service frequency within the contract term.

Councilmember Mike (first name only in the meeting record) said the community survey showed strong support for twice-weekly service, and other councilmembers expressed a desire to minimize price increases while moving toward automation. Some residents urged a subscription-based recycling option for households that want it; Marino said Waste Connections could offer a subscription pickup at about $11 per month for weekly recycling pickup.

The council coalesced around Option 3 (twice-weekly automated service without universal recycling) as the preferred structure and instructed staff to pursue a contract reflecting that option and return a formal agreement — with attorney review — for a future meeting and vote. At the time of the work session the contract had not been finalized and no formal ordinance or contract vote occurred; the council’s decision was a direction to staff rather than a final approval.

Council and staff discussed transition logistics and resident accommodations. Marino said households with qualifying disabilities or documented limitations would be eligible for curbside assistance and that Waste Connections would provide communication materials (mailers, videos and community outreach) to ease the change. Councilmembers also raised operational concerns about how larger carts and route changes might affect street wear and the number of truck trips.

Next steps, as stated in the meeting: staff will work with Waste Connections to prepare a new contract reflecting Option 3, the city attorney will review the proposed contract, and the item will return to the council for formal action and a recorded vote.