Politics & Government

Talking Trash in Montgomery

Village leaders are looking at options to change the way trash and recyclables are picked up. And they want your input.

The wants to talk trash with you.

With the village’s current contract with Allied Waste Services coming to an end, Director Mike Pubentz is looking at options. And he’d like to know which ones the community would embrace.

The current agreement costs residents $15.50 per month. Under that contract, Allied picks up two 33-gallon plastic bags per week. Any amount of trash over that, including bulk items, must be stickered, and paid for separately.

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Allied will also take recyclables in 25-gallon bins, and one bag of yard waste or one bundle of brush each week. The village also has a senior program that allows those 65 and older to buy 14-gallon trash bags at a discounted rate, and avoid the monthly fee.

But at last week’s Village Board meeting, Pubentz said he has heard some dissatisfaction with the system. Some residents, he said, have complained that it discourages recycling, and some have said the recycle bins, which are uncovered, don’t keep paper and other debris from blowing through the neighborhoods.

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Pubentz presented several options to the board, the first of them being to stick with the current system. The others involved changes, some big, some small.

  • Continue with the current system for garbage, but add a covered recycling cart, at an extra cost. The carts come in 35, 65 and 95-gallon sizes. The larger sizes, Pubentz said, may not fit comfortably in a garage with cars. Yard waste would stay the same under this option.
  • Ditch the two-bag system, and Allied will provide covered carts for both garbage and recycling. Whatever fits in the carts is covered under the monthly fee. Yard waste would stay the same under this option as well.
  • Launch a three-cart system—one for trash, one for recycling and one for yard waste. Whatever fits in the carts would be covered under the monthly fee. The carts, Pubentz said, allow for automated curbside pickup on the trucks.
  • Get a pay-as-you-throw system going, meaning residents would pay for stickers for garbage, while recycling pickup would be free. This encourages recycling, Pubentz said, because it forces residents to reduce their paid trash volume—putting bottles and cans into the free recycling bins, as opposed to the trash bags they pay for.

Pubentz and the board would like to know what residents think of these options. On the village’s website, residents can take a survey asking for their thoughts

Trustees are also considering whether to stay with Allied Waste, the village’s vendor for 10 years, or switch to another company. The board authorized Pubentz to talk with Allied, but also put out a request for proposals from other companies.


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