By Joe Bachman

City officials continued to move forward with the renovations of local recycling services, including the purchase of a new truck, and the order of 6,500 new recycling carts.

The change would see a single-stream service, which would mean residents will no longer need to separate their recyclables. Residents will also get to choose between a 95 gallon and a 45 gallon bin for their recyclables.

The Finance & Property Committee first approved the purchase of a Peterbuilt 320 recycling truck from JX Truck Center for a total of $245,573.  This truck will come with a 12-year warranty, with the expected life cycle to be 15-20 years.

The committee also approved the purchase of 6,500 new recycling carts.

“We’ve got about 6,400 units, and we’re proposing 6,500 carts to purchase — the majority of them, and what we recommend to people is to use the 95 gallon carts,” said Director of Public Works Joe Terry. “[Residents] would have an option initially before we make our first purchase to special request a 48 gallon as a substitute.”

According to Terry, once the city purchases the carts, any substitution or change thereafter would be at the expense of the property owner.

The containers would include the city’s logo, though the color has yet to be determined for the body and lid. In addition, a radio frequency identification tag (RFID) will be applied to the carts for identification and inventory management purposes.

The estimated preliminary cost for purchase of the recycling carts will run approximately $342,225, though this number may change depending on requests for 48 gallon containers.

“It’s not common for cities to pick up the entire tab of purchase of the bins,” said Mayor Zach Vruwink. “it’s very uncommon, so I think it’s important for us to draw the distinction that cities that have done this have put that on their tax bill.”

The common council meets tonight to discuss this approval in detail, and if approved, the new recycling system could take effect as early as the start of next year.