The Salina City Commission directed staff Monday evening to research ways to expand curbside recycling. The commission issued the direction following an 87-minute winding discussion where two commissioners asked if the city of Salina should even be involved in the waste collection business.
City staff agreed to determine if any private companies would be interested in offering curbside recycling to a large number of customers at a reasonable price. Staff will also gauge if there is public interest in continuing the city’s curbside recycling program at an increased cost to recycling customers, in part by polling current subscription recycling customers.
Currently, 842 Salina customers pay $5.50 per month to participate in the city’s subscription curbside recycling program. Public Works director Jim Kowach said the city is losing curbside subscription customers every week because more people are deciding to take their recycling directly to the Salina Drive-thru Recycling Center (SDRC), which opened in July 2018.
Commissioner Mike Hoppock said he is a former subscription customer who has chosen to use the SDRC instead.
“I use it. It’s a wonderful facility,” he said. “The individuals that run that do a great job. I wait in line for a few minutes, even with two to three cars in front of me.”
(Read more: News – Salina Journal)