TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Almost half of the monthly solid waste fee Twin Falls residents pay covers curbside recycling, but the program struggles with low participation and contamination.
The city is asking residents to weigh in on the future of its curbside recycling program through a new survey, as officials consider whether to continue offering the service as part of its solid waste contract.
WATCH | Twin Falls neighborhood reporter Lorien Nettleton heard from residents and the city:
Chelsea Ross, the utility billing manager for the city, helped create the survey.
"What do you like about recycling? What don't you like about recycling? What would make you want to recycle more?," Ross asked. "We just really want to get a pulse on how people feel about it so that we make sure we're making the best decision based on what our citizens want and need."
Five dollars and 79 cents of every monthly sanitation fee — collected from the city's 17,000 account holders — goes toward curbside recycling, identified by the blue bin with the orange lid. But contamination means much of what residents put in those bins does not actually get recycled.
"More goes to the landfill than actually gets recycled due to contamination," Ross said.
The city asks residents to place only cardboard, aluminum and tin in the recycling bins. Despite that guidance, collection crews have found yard waste, motor oil and even animal carcasses in the bins — contamination that can spoil an entire truckload.
One resident, Fred, said the problem may be more widespread than many realize.
"I suspect a lot of what we think we're recycling is going into the trash," Fred said.
The city is now considering removing recycling from its solid waste contract entirely and allowing residents who want the service to subscribe to it independently.
I spent a few hours outside the library talking with neighbors about the program, including Michelle Payne, who said she has recycled responsibly since she was young.
"It depends, I think, if we have enough because I know that does help the community out," Payne said. "It will be nice not to have a fee."
The survey is available on the city's website AT THIS LINK.
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