City leaders OK recycling plan for all residents
Nov 20, 2018 -- Posted by :By Michelle McLean, Hillsboro Banner
Hillsboro city leaders recently pushed forward with a plan to make all city utility customers join recycling efforts.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said City Commissioner Dave Sather.
The longtime commissioner recognized that commissioners have wrestled for years with the idea of forcing residents to participate in recycling.
The time has come, he added. “I don’t think it should be a choice anymore.”
Commissioner Levi Reese, who has been spearheading the change, pointed out that garbage prices will increase even without broadening recycling.
The city’s garbage and recycling collector, Waste Management, offered two options for its renewed contract – both with a 2.5 percent increase to the base rate.
One option left recycling as a choice costing $5.79 per month per customer while the second option made recycling mandatory citywide and reduced the cost to $4.25 per month.
Overall, the difference in the two options was less than $300 a month for the city’s total bill, between $18,441 and $18,724.
“About a wash,” noted City Commission President Terry Sando.
“We’re going to pay one way or another,” added City Auditor Matt Mutzenberger.
Under the current rates, garbage pickup costs $18 per month plus $5.65 for recycling.
Under Reese’s proposal, the total cost would be $23 a month for both garbage and recycling services.
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