Mary Hansen
The State Journal-Register
Springfield residents will be able to bring tin and aluminum cans, cardboard boxes and other items to new recycling drop-off sites starting Sept. 1.
Aldermen considered for months whether to raise the city-imposed cap on garbage-collection rates and what to ask from the haulers in return before reaching a compromise last Tuesday. They increased the cap by about 30 percent and required all four of the haulers that serve Springfield to provide drop-off recycling sites for their customers.
Starting Sept. 1, haulers can charge as much as $18 per month for curbside pickup of two containers, up from $13.75; and as much as $13 per month for one container, up from $11.25. The haulers had already been providing curbside recycling bins for their customers.
Republic Services is looking at its hauling site on Granger Drive or the landfill on Sandhill Road for its drop-off location. Waste Management is considering using its facility on East Ash Street. Lake Area Disposal operates the only existing drop-off recycling center in the city, which as of April is open to just its customers. The city’s fourth hauler, Illini Waste Disposal, did not respond to a request for comment.
Representatives with Republic, Waste Management and Lake Area say that because of the low price of recyclables, they likely won’t make any money from operating the drop-off sites. Lake Area blamed the cost last year in temporarily closing its drop-off site, which had been open to all Springfield residents.
Republic’s curbside recycling service has grown, with participation and volume of material collected up 200 percent since 2011, said Dan Winters, general manager for the company. But more recycling doesn’t necessarily mean more profits, and he’d prefer customers use the curbside service.
After Lake Area closed its recycling center to the public in January, the need for additional recycling options became clear, said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin. “Curbside doesn’t satisfy all the situations that arise, and there are roughly 30 percent of Springfield residents who live in apartments and most don’t have access to curbside,” McMenamin said.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 