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City staff recommends ending Lancaster's curbside cardboard recycling pickup, cites failed equipment and low commodity prices
Summary
City staff told the council the cardboard recycling program is losing money because the processing machine is failing and the cardboard market has collapsed; staff proposed a 60-day notice to customers, continued pickups until then, and selling the machines to recoup funds.
City of Lancaster staff recommended the council end the city's curbside cardboard recycling pickup, saying equipment failures and collapsed market prices mean the program is no longer financially sustainable. Staff said the sorting/processing machine is largely inoperable and that repairs would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.
"Our equipment is completely more out," a city staff member said, describing a need for roughly $60,000 in repairs and warning that continued operation would not recoup costs. Staff said market returns for cardboard have fallen from earlier highs to as little as about $5 per ton in recent months.
Council members asked whether customers and local businesses had been notified; staff said they had not yet contacted users and proposed a notification period of about 60 days to give businesses time to arrange alternate pickup. One council member said a longer period might be needed for some businesses; staff said some commercial haulers already collect cardboard separately and that alternatives include commercial pickup or mixing cardboard into general waste with tipping fees.
Staff proposed selling the aging machines and using the proceeds to support other priorities, and said a replacement sorting machine could cost substantially more (staff cited figures up to around $400,000 for newer equipment). The staff recommendation was framed as a budget decision: continuing the service in its current form would increase the solid-waste fund's operating costs without corresponding revenue.
The council did not take a final vote on ending the program at the moment recorded in the transcript; staff asked the council to consider an end date with a public-notice period and to authorize follow-up budget changes if the council agrees.
If the council acts, staff said pickups would continue during the notification window while the city communicates options to affected residents and businesses. The discussion closed with staff noting that some independent companies and out-of-state facilities still market recyclables successfully, but the regional market remains weak.
