Photo by Jon Anderson
A sanitation worker for Republic Services returns a cart to the curb after emptying it in the Scout Creek section of Trace Crossings in Hoover, Alabama, on June 11, 2021.
A bid for residential garbage collection and curbside recycling services was approved in a 4-2 vote during the Aug. 1 Chelsea City Council meeting.
Council members Scott Weygand and Cody Sumners both voted no to the bid that will increase the costs for garbage and recycling services from $36.75 to $107.10 per quarter, an increase of 197%, beginning Sept. 1.
Sumners said the council knew that there would be a significant increase in contract cost regarding pick up services based on recent bids for surrounding cities, and the two options they had to consider were one without recycling and a higher bid that included recycling.
Sumners said that at a precouncil meeting in December 2023, a consultant addressed the council regarding the garbage collection bid process and discussed the issue of recycling and whether or not it should be included in the bid details.
“The consultant made it clear that recycling as it’s currently done is a farce,” Sumners said. “He informed the council that the overwhelming majority of recycling ends up in the same landfill as general garbage.”
Sumners also mentioned that Shelby County recently did away with recycling as part of their garbage contracts due to excessive cost being passed onto citizens “for a service that does not truly accomplish the lofty goals they’re claimed,” he said.
“While the cost of removing trash from our city is going to rise exponentially either with or without recycling included, I feel that in today’s economy, every cent that we can save our citizens is important,” Sumners said. “Given what we as a council know about the truth about recycling, I feel that including recycling and passing larger costs onto our citizens is nothing more than an attempt to virtue signal off the backs of the citizens of Chelsea and the finance of their families.”
Council member Casey Morris said that while he doesn’t like that the cost is increasing, the services would be maintained the same across the board.
“I do consider myself to be a conservationist by nature, but the way I look at it, I'll still be getting three pickups every two weeks as opposed to just two. So, not the best thing, but definitely not the worst thing,” Morris said.
Mayor Tony Picklsimer said that he wanted to make sure everyone knew the difference in the vote was $16 per quarter, a little over $5 per month, to include the recycling.
The pick up schedule will remain the same with weekly trash and bulk trash pick up and recycling pick up every other week. The option without recycling was $91.35 per quarter and $39 for an extra can.
The only other responsive bid came from Waste Management and was $130.50 with recycle and $83.25 without recycle but neither included bulk trash pickup.
The mayor and council discussed how much recycling eventually winds up in the landfill.
Picklesimer said that while some of it definitely ends up in the landfill, it could be the majority of it. Council member Chris Grace disagreed and said that he believes that with industry standards for recycling, the amount that goes to the landfill is closer to 20-30%.
“It's not the vast majority,” he said. “I think that’s a pretty big overestimation. It's important for our citizens to abide by the rules. If you use the second can as a second garbage collection, it spoils the whole system. So in a year, approximately 400,000 pounds of garbage doesn’t go to dump, which prolongs the life of that landfill. Those are expensive to build and maintain. So I feel like this is the best decision for our citizens.”
Picklesimer knows that some residents won’t be happy with the decision of the council for signing them to pay $16 more per quarter for something that’s not important to them, but said it’s a decision that had to be made.
