Automatic curbside recycling may come to Santa Clara

The City of Santa Clara is considering citywide automatic curbside recycling. If the majority of citizens indicate through an online survey that they want the program, officials say the city will move forward with the plan.

If approved, all residents will be signed up for the service, but they will be able to make a phone call and opt-out at any time, Santa Clara City Manager Ed Dickie said.

The city, itself, would not provide the service, but it would administer the billing through the monthly utility bill. If a resident terminates the service, the resident would no longer be billed for it.

This service would be done through Republic Services – a trash and recycling provider formerly known as Allied Waste – that already offers curbside recycling to Santa Clara residents who subscribe.

Curbside recycling has been an opt-in service in Santa Clara and across Washington County since 2009, Tracy Skenandore, area director of public relations for Republic, said. Republic Services currently charges around $9.10 per month for the service. This price fluctuates depending on current fuel costs. The service supplies the resident with a recycling container and then picks it up weekly on the same day as regular trash day.

The containers are about the same size as a typical residential container. Residents can recycle paper, all kinds of plastics, cardboard, aluminum, and metal. However, because the program is all-in-one and the materials are mixed, Republic Services does not accept glass.

Once picked up, the recycling is taken to Rocky Mountain Recycling to be separated, recycled, and shipped to manufacturers for reuse.

If Santa Clara decides on the opt-out program, some revenue would be used to help fund a veterans memorial, Dickie said.

Also, some of the recycling ‘binnies’ within Santa Clara’s boundaries might be removed. The recycling ‘binnie’ program, provided by Washington County Solid Waste, gleans money for its program’s operational costs from residents’ trash removal fees.