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O'Fallon to pilot single-stream curbside recycling March 4; city to supply 96-gallon carts
Summary
City staff presented a communications video and staff briefing announcing a single-stream curbside recycling pilot to begin March 4, 2025 in Tuesday pickup areas; the pilot will accept paper, cardboard, metal, plastic and glass in a single cart and aims to remove public drop-off containers and improve participation without raising monthly resident rates.
The city announced a pilot to restore single-stream curbside recycling beginning March 4, 2025 for residents on the Tuesday recycling route. A communications video and staff briefing described program details, cart distribution and operational changes.
Under the pilot, residents will receive new 96-gallon single-stream carts; curbside pickup will accept paper, cardboard (if broken down), aluminum and steel cans, plastics and glass together. Staff emphasized that recyclables must be reasonably clean and free of food residue or materials that contaminate loads: drivers will monitor contamination during the pilot and load rejections can occur if material is not rinsed or contains non-recyclables.
Staff said the city will eliminate many of the existing paper/cardboard drop-off containers because weekly curbside pickup should meet resident needs and removing drop-off locations reduces personnel and operating costs. "If you break down cardboard instead of putting whole boxes in, you can get a lot in the 96-gallon cart," one committee member said during discussion.
Operations and processing: staff said processed materials will go to a sorting facility in St. Peters (St. Peter's) that recently converted to single-stream processing and has invested in automated sorting equipment. The city reported a preliminary figure of about $55 per ton for recycling going forward but said long-term contracts and rates are still being negotiated; staff contrasted that to quoted trash tipping costs discussed at the meeting.
Staff also addressed staffing: drivers previously dedicated to drop-off service will be redeployed to residential routes to collect single-stream material; the change is intended to restore participation lost after the 2018 system change that moved paper and cardboard to drop-off collection.
Committee members welcomed the pilot and flagged practical items for public communication, including advising residents to break down large cardboard, clarifying when remaining drop-off containers will be removed, and providing a customer-information packet that will accompany cart deliveries.
Ending: The committee scheduled a deeper follow-up presentation by Jim Manzura next month to address additional operational questions and performance metrics during the pilot.
