TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Twin Falls is eliminating its mandatory residential recycling program after two decades, citing low participation rates and high contamination costs that have made the service financially unsustainable.
The city council voted Dec. 15 to enter contract negotiations with PSI for solid waste collection services that exclude recycling. The decision comes as the current contract expires Dec. 31, 2026.
WATCH: What shaped the council's decision to ditch recycling
"Their recycling numbers were very low, which made the cost jump up significantly, and I think that is the reason that the council is looking into if it's worth keeping the recycling program," said Chelsea Ross, utility services supervisor. "It is costing citizens more money at the end of the day."
In the Utility Services Report to City Council for the Dec. 15 meeting, Ross said PSI delivered 233,244 tons of solid waste to the landfill, and 98.96 tons of recycled material.
Currently, every Twin Falls resident pays $20.11 per month for garbage and recycling services through their utility bills. When the city solicited bids for the new contract, PSI's options that included recycling were double the cost of options without it.
Negotiations are in their early stages, and it's too soon to say whether residents will see their utility bill go down as a result of this decision.
The program has struggled with contamination from non-recyclable materials mixed into recycling bins, which can cause entire loads to be sent to landfills instead of processing facilities.
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"There's so much contamination that comes back that it's really hard to keep track of those numbers specifically because they're having to throw it out anyway, because of the contamination," Ross said.
Some residents like Erik Wenninger have remained committed to recycling despite the program's challenges. Wenninger sorts his aluminum, cardboard and tin as required, but goes further by saving paper and plastic items to recycle during trips to Boise.
"Yeah, there's definitely a concern that I have that I'm putting all this effort into separating out recyclable items and putting what I know should be accepted in these orange bins," Wenninger said.
PSI has collected residential recycling since it started in 2006, but had mainly delivered the material to a processor.
In 2024, Magic Valley Recycling closed its doors, at which point PSI took on the role as recycler, and just a few months ago, in Nov. 2025, they opened a new recycling facility on Gem Street, to bale materials for transport.
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PSI has indicated interest in offering an opt-in recycling service separate from city fees, though details remain unclear.
"I would be willing to spend a few bucks to contribute to having my recyclable items taken," Wenninger said. "I'm worried that very, very few other people will be willing to do that if it's an option, so I'm concerned that there'll just be a lot less recycling that happens."
The current residential recycling program will continue through the end of its contract on Dec. 31, 2026, PSI says.
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