While I understand this was a "business decision" on the part of Western Recycling, which came to collect the recyclables on a regular basis, I have to wonder whether it was more out of inconvenience than anything else.
Western Recycling does offer curbside recycling locally -- for $12 a month, collected twice a month. So they have trucks rolling. They can't use the same trucks to collect the city recycling bins. Either collecting the bins was a money-loser for the company, or it was just . . . inconvenient.
Inconvenience seems to be Western Recycling's thing. I've been to their plant downtown and have rarely seen a place that says "Go Away" more than that. It's clear they'll truck with the bigger scrap dealers, but don't necessarily want to deal with an unwashed schlub coming in with a tub of aluminum cans to sell. Good thing Millcreek Metals is closer, and actually wants to deal with said schlubs. And Millcreek Metals is a lot closer to home than Western is.
The city points out -- rightly -- that those wanting a second city garbage bin to handle the recyclables the city is no longer willing to collect might be better off getting one of Western's recycling bins, as a second bin costs more from the city. Though that number, on the face of it, is hard to pin down. The city doesn't list costs on its sanitation website, and I can see by our city bill that one bin costs $11 a month. Unless the city is grossly overcharging for that second bin, I can't see any savings going on here, aside from recyclables not ending up in the landfill.*
I know this all seems convoluted. If I want to recycle -- and I do -- I should bite the bullet and either truck my stuff to the recycling center or get the curbside service.
But as much as the business end of things wants to cut costs on their side or just not bother out of inconvenience, I too want to cut costs and not bother out of inconvenience as well. Taking recyclables to the city shop is a lot shorter distance for me than carting the stuff downtown. And suddenly shifting a lot of vehicles taking smaller loads that distance doesn't make much environmental sense considering larger trucks could make the trip to the city bins to collect more recyclables all at once. So it's a classic robbing Peter to pay Paul situation.
So Bonneville County, your landfill is going to fill faster. I'm trying to decide right now what to continue recycling, and what to just stuff in the trash. And the more I stuff in the trash, the faster that landfill will fill up.
I know it sounds like I'm just whining because I'm going to have to change my recycling habits. And I suppose I am. But it sure would be nice if the options we had remained as options. But I knew when Idaho Falls stopped its recycling in program -- also partnered with Western -- that Ammon's recycling was on a limited time schedule, as I'm sure Western got a lot more material out of Idaho Falls recyclers.
And what boggles the mind is there's a company out of Salt Lake City -- 200 miles away -- that sees financial benefit of putting recycling bins for glass in Idaho Falls. I guess I just don't understand the economics of recycling. Or the shadowy realm of "business decisions."
*Our local councilman says a second city trash can is $15 a month. So a savings, though small.
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