Council Bluffs -- Council Bluffs residents should take note of updates to the city's curbside garbage and recycling services beginning next month.
As part of their new contract with Waste Connections, beginning July 3, the city of Council Bluffs will be switching to an automated, carted garbage and recycling collection system. Tony Fiala is the city's Solid Waste Management Superintendent. In preparation for the changes, Fiala tells KMA News nearly 40,000 new 96-gallon containers have been delivered to residents throughout the city. Fiala says one of the bigger changes is that yard waste and trash will now be combined in one container year round.
"It's a big change from the current system where it's separated trash and yard waste and all done in homeowner containers or regular trash cans," said Fiala. "These are city-provided carts that will work with the automated collections that are part of the new fleet that is getting rolled out."
He says additional yard waste in paper bags including bundled brush and branches, will be collected during peak times, including April 15-May 31, and October 15-November 30. Additionally, Fiala says residents will have their recycling collected every other week. He adds they've also switched from a "curb sorted" to a single-stream system allowing the majority of items in the new recycling bin -- except for glass.
"Paper, carboard, tin and aluminum cans, plastic items, and food and beverage containers with a twist top lid are accepted in the single-stream recycling," Fiala explained. "Glass will still be accepted at our drop-off locations at area grocery stores in Council Bluffs."
Fiala says the city is mailing out the new services calendar to residents signed up for the city service. Ultimately, with the new system, he adds that residents will see a $1 uptick in their monthly costs to $21, billed quarterly. However, with the latest automated trucks rolling out to combine garbage and yard waste, Fiala says there will still be cost savings for residents utilizing the baseline service.
"One big driver for combining the trash and yard waste is to remove a truck from the route and in turn saving the residents about $4 per household," he said, "which equates to approximately $1 million per year in those fees."
Those going beyond the baseline can purchase an additional recycling bin for $60 per year and an extra garbage and yard waste bin for $120 a year. Fiala adds that the new automated trucks are more efficient in collecting waste and can assist Waste Connections in hiring and retaining employees.
"These do require a Class B CDL so there's extra training with that and it will reduce work comp insurance costs for the contractor and thus reduces costs for the city by not having to pay for those added costs," said Fiala. "It is a more efficient way of collecting waste -- the time on the streets is less and the wear and tear on the streets is less by removing those separate yard waste trucks from the route."
Waste Connections is also hosting a recycling event for anyone wishing to recycle their old containers. Residents can drop off their old containers in the designated area in the north parking lot of the Horseshoe Casino between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. July 10-16. Fiala says residents should place their carts and materials within five feet of the roadway by 7 a.m. on their scheduled collection day. For more information on the new services and the services calendar, visit cbrecycles.com. Residents can also down the WasteConnect app or call the solid waste hotline at 712-890-5549.
