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Mountain Waste and Recycling Presents Q1 Update to Carbondale Trustees

On Tuesday, Carbondale Trusteesreviewed an updateon the rollout of the town's new trash & recycling service. Public Works Director Kevin Schorzman and Mountain Waste & Recycling District Manager Mike Hinkley presented the report. So far complaints are low, and the landfill diversion rate is up, but Trustees could still make changes. KDNK's Lucas Turner has more.

The Board approved a contract with Mountain Waste and Recycling in April, and Service for most of the town began on October 1st.

Trustee Marty Silverstein and Mayor Dan Richardson both shared positive comments about the rollout of the new service.

SILVERSTEIN:This has been a spectacular rollout. The number of complaints we’ve had has really been minimal compared to the number of people who’ve been affected.
RICHARDSON: The numbers are impressive, the partnership has worked really well. I think the staff has done a really great job but so has your company, so thank you.

One of those numbers is the amount of waste being diverted from the landfill. In 2019 Carbondale diverted nearly 37% of its waste. Trustee Erica Sparhawk says that's an improvement over previous years.

Town officials discussed the issue for nearly an hour Tuesday after the Mountain Waste and Recycling’s report, deliberating at length about whether to allow residents to opt-out of service. 

 

 

As of Tuesday, the town had documented opt-out 18 requests. Carbondale resident Michael Adams told Trustees he wants to be responsible for his own trash and recycling, saying it costs less than the town’s new service.

 

Ultimately, Carbondale Trustees decided not to allow opt-outs, making the service equivalent to sewer and water, which also do not allow opt-outs. 

Trustees also discussed allowing residents who leave the area for extended periods of time to request a suspension of service. They did not come to a final conclusion on the issue, but directed staff to look into it, and agreed to consider it at a future meeting.

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