Columbia City Council unanimously votes to get rid of city logo bags

Watch a replay of the Columbia City Council meeting above.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council voted unanimously on Monday to end the city-logo trash bag program.

Ward 5 Councilman Matt Pitzer said before the meeting that if the city chose to eliminate the city logo bags, residents would be able to use their own trash bags they buy.

The city has been trying to get a handle on the trash situation for years.

For the past year, the city has been looking into alternatives to the city-logo bags. The solid waste department recommended the city end the mandatory use of city-logo bags. Feedback received from the community showed the majority were in favor of getting rid of city recycling and logo bags.

The city will save more than $1 million by eliminating the bags.

The city said it still has about 60,000 recycling city logo bags and around 35,000 trash bags left and they will still give vouchers out until the bags are all gone.

Council discussed the pros and cons of getting rid of the bags and what would happen if they choose to not eliminate the bags, as it seems like city staff plans to eventually go with an automated system. City staff will still have to schedule public comment and community input on the automated system before they can even bring it to council for a vote.

Pitzer said doing away with the trash bags is a step in the right direction.

"I think it's also important for us to be responsive to a program that we put in place that clearly isn't working," he said. "And I think it's important that we are starting to take steps towards a more comprehensive solution."