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Council debates options for city-operated recycling center, glass collection and user fees
Summary
Council and staff discussed whether the city should continue operating a limited-hours recycling drop-off funded by the garbage enterprise fund, expand glass recycling, charge nonresidents, or shift to a regional model; staff was asked to survey users and report back.
Councilmembers spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing the city’s recycling center operations, funding and possible alternatives.
Councilmember Mike Bedard and other councilmembers described the center as a limited-hours service that city residents use alongside curbside collection provided by Waste Management; staff said Sustainable NCW does not want to continue operating the current drop-off arrangement. Councilmembers raised two central questions: should the city continue operating the site, and who should pay for it if it continues?
The policy choices discussed included maintaining the current city-supported drop-off (with improved monitoring to prevent nonresident use), creating a regional glass-collection center, charging nonresidents at point of entry, expanding curbside collection, or partnering with commercial haulers. Council members and staff repeatedly emphasized legal limits on using the garbage enterprise fund for services mostly benefitting commercial or nonresident users and suggested more data before a policy decision.
Staff and council agreed on immediate next steps: conduct a community survey and compile existing usage data, evaluate options for limiting nonresident use (ID checks, per-load limits), and explore regional partnerships for processing large volumes of glass. Several councilmembers urged short-term operational fixes for peak seasonal loads and storm debris, while cautioning that any ongoing subsidy should be defensible under enterprise-fund rules.
No formal policy decision was made at the meeting; staff will return with survey results, usage figures and proposed options for council consideration.
