The City of Columbia looking for community feedback about future of trash collection

COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)

On Tuesday, the City of Columbia is looking for community feedback about the future of trash collections in the city. 

Residents looking to provide any comments can attend an input meeting on Tuesday night at the Activity and Recreation Center from 6 - 8 p.m.

Tuesday's discussion comes after the city unanimously voted to get rid of the city logo trash bag system last month. Some residents viewed this as a positive move due to complaints about defective bags, bags not being available in stores and some believing the cost of extra bags were too pricey. 

In total, officials claim the change could save the city more than $1 million dollars.

In place of the current curbside trash system, council members are considers converting to an automated collection system. The city believes this will help with current staffing issues and improve safety conditions for truck drivers. 

For residents, this means the city could provide a single-sized cart to all customers which would either be 65-gallon or 95-gallon carts. Customers looking for an additional cart would have to pay an additional monthly fee. This fee would range from $8-$12 a month depending on the size of the roll cart.

Residents who can't attend Tuesday's meeting can attend one on Jan. 31st from 6 - 8 p.m.

Solid Waste expects it to cost more than $2 million dollars if they chose to transition their trash services and buy roll carts.

Residents looking to leave comments can also visit the project page.