Curbside recycling in Columbia could resume by the end of February

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Curbside pickup for recycling in Columbia could resume as early as next month.

The Columbia City Council and Solid Waste Utility held a work session on Monday and the topic of recycling was included on the agenda. According to the Utilities Director Dave Sorrell, staffing for the department needs to be at 90% for curbside recycling pickup to start again.

During the meeting, Sorrell revealed that staffing levels are at 71% and the city is currently working on hiring seven people, with three starting next week. If this employment growth continues, Sorrell said the city could see its curbside recycling program to start near the end of February. There are currently 18 vacancies.

"We can't say for sure when that's gonna happen," Columbia Utilities spokesman Matt Nestor said. "What we're trying to avoid is restarting recycling collection and then running into a situation where we have to stop again."

The city had suspended its curbside recycling services in May. In September, the department was short of restarting the program by 16 employees.

A petition seeking a class-action lawsuit was filed against the city in December, alleging a breach of contract for halting curbside recycling pickup.

The discussion follows a final report conducted by RRT Design and Construction LLC that was presented to the City Council on Dec. 4, outlining several recommendations to improve recycling. According to the report, a few recommendations regarding recycling drop-off include closing the three most "abused" sites across the city.

The report lists the Downtown (Tenth and Cherry streets) site, University of Missouri (Bluford Hall) and University of Missouri (East Campus Plant Growth Facility) as the "most abused" sites. These locations are described in the report as "not serving their intended functions and taking up resources without contributing to recycling."

The report also recommends consolidating the South Providence and State Farm Parkway locations, as well as gating, staffing and only making them available during daylight hours. Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman noted being in support of gating the locations.

"I like the idea that we're going to try and lock the gate," Waterman said. "People drop off furniture, they drop off appliances, they drop off mattresses... so by staffing those we can eliminate some of that."

Ward 4 Councilman Nick Foster said he believes staffing the locations would make recycling throughout the city more efficient, also emphasizing the financial benefit of doing so.

"It could also mean that we are able to reclaim some funds from the sale of those items, which if they're in a better condition would make it easier for us to sell them," Foster said.

Ward 1 Councilman Nick Knoth said although he isn't opposed to changing the hours of the sites, he thinks the city should take into consideration the timing. Knoth noted that people utilize the sites during all hours of the day, so changes will need to be during a time that is accessible.

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe also said the city should focus on specifically what the sites look like. Some cities label the bins at locations, designating them for specific items, something Columbia could consider, according to Buffaloe.

The report also recommended either relocating or upgrading the drop-off center at Cosmo Park, the only drop-off location north of Interstate 70. It claims the location could be upgraded with a gate or it could be relocated across the park to inside the fence at the Yard Waste Drop-off Center, making it both staffed and gated.

The report also recommends implementing automated collection for curbside recycling and discontinuing collecting glass at the curb. Setting a long-term goal of collecting recycling weekly and increasing the recycling of cardboard are also recommended.

During Monday night's meeting, council members said they were not opposed to the idea of implementing automated collection. However, many believe waiting to see what staffing looks like in the future until discussing it further is in the city's best interest.