Clinton approves staff to launch opt-out recycling rollout with 60-day window to secure grants

Clinton City Council on April 28 instructed staff to move forward with a citywide recycling cart program that will be offered as an opt-out-to-mandatory model with a 60-day opt-out period, a phased vendor distribution, and operational guidance to minimize staff burden.

City Manager Trevor Cahoon told council the city faces two main delivery options: an "opt-out-to-mandatory" model that yields a $15 rebate per cart if every household receives a cart and addresses are submitted to the grant partner by Sept. 1, and a straight opt-out model with a smaller $12 rebate. Cahoon said the carts require an eight-week lead time to order and that a phased rollout could reduce wasted inventory and storage pressure at the public works yard.

Cahoon described staff concerns about logistics and ongoing customer service needs, including the work of assembling, delivering and, when residents opt out after delivery, collecting or storing returned carts. He said Clinton has about 7,100 households and estimated the monthly recycling charge would land in the $6.50–$7 range depending on enrollment levels. Cahoon also noted a roughly four-year payback was built into the proposed fee structure to recover up-front capital costs.

Mayor Marie Doherty and council members emphasized the financial incentive for higher participation. Doherty said extending an opt-out window beyond 45 days would give residents more time to try the service and decide; councilors settled on 60 days after discussion of trial periods and billing cycles. Doherty also raised the landfill-diversion rationale and long-term cost pressures on regional disposal infrastructure.

Representatives from the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District and Robinson Waste advised the council. Preston Lee of Wasatch Integrated confirmed that the diversion-incentive program requires the municipality to make the program mandatory for new move-ins (the district’s incentive is tied to residents diverted from landfill) and clarified that the incentive counting may be satisfied with a phased rollout so long as every household receives a cart at some point. Colette West, the district’s sustainability specialist, said past rollouts that delivered carts to every house saw higher take rates and recommended strong education materials. Lance Hown of Robinson Waste recommended buying full truckloads to reduce freight costs and noted some cart models are stackable after wheel assembly, which can ease storage.

Council members questioned staffing and costs. Trevor Cahoon and public works staff said the city could avoid hiring an ongoing customer-service FTE by temporarily backfilling calls across departments or by adopting online and automated opt-out forms; removing a dedicated customer-service position would reduce the monthly fee by about $0.47 per household, staff said. Council Member Danson moved — and the body amended and approved — a motion that directs staff to implement an opt-out-to-mandatory program with a 60-day opt-out period, pursue a phased vendor distribution, and evaluate whether the dedicated customer-service position can be removed from the initial staffing plan.

The council’s direction launches vendor engagement, public education planning and grant application steps; staff said they will return with fee and implementation specifics, including firm billing dates and opt-out mechanics. Doherty said the goal is to start communications in mid-May with a potential July rollout window and final grant submission by September 1 if the city elects to pursue the full rebate.

Next steps: staff will negotiate vendor timelines, finalize communications and education materials with Wasatch Integrated, and prepare the fee schedule and administrative details for future council approval.