Phoenix city council voted Feb. 11 to increase the city’s solid waste residential rate by $6.40 a month. The rate hike is expected to be phased in over the next two years, according to Cronkite News. The measure comes two years after China’s National Sword policy was implemented, which has cost Phoenix multimillion-dollar profits from solid waste.
The decision came after the council weighed four options regarding the future of Phoenix’s curbside waste and recycling services. The other options proposed changing curbside recycling collections to every other week, terminating operations at the Phoenix composting facility for all customers or suspending the recycling and compost programs.
Before the vote, representatives from the Phoenix Public Works Department made a presentation in support of the $6.40 a month increase, which they said most residents wanted.
“Our recommendation was the recommendation that our community told us was most important to them,” says Joe Giudice, assistant director of public works for Phoenix. “What we thought was most important to the community was to maintain the services we are currently providing and to continue the city’s commitment toward sustainability and how [Phoenix] manages its waste.”
According to the online surveys conducted by the Public Works Department, 58 percent of respondents preferred to keep all services, despite the rate increase.
“If [Public Works drivers] don’t get the increase over the next two years … we’re going to lose 90 drivers,” said Robert Reidenbach, a Phoenix Public Works driver, ahead of the vote. “We’re trying to keep 100 people from having to tell their families they don’t have a job.”
Before 2018, Phoenix would send 60 to 70 percent of its recycled materials to China in exchange for an annual payout. In 2017, the city made $13 million from recycled waste.
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