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Residents should get involved in discussion on garbage pickup

Let’s do some trash talking about the city of Marquette.

No, we don’t mean insults or publicly ridiculing officials. We literally mean trash collection and recycling changes that could be coming down the line for city residents this fall.

The Marquette City Commission and city staff members recently discussed three alternatives that could potentially save money and possibly even call for the elimination of the existing green bag system.

While the green bags could still be used through a flexible hybrid system, a cheaper alternative would be collection through the implementation of a covered rolling cart system.

But there were some concerns raised at the recent work session that left city commissioners somewhat divided on the proposals.

Those issues concerning commissioners include potential impacts to the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority’s recycling program, local taxes and jobs to name a few.

Three companies placed bids with the city to handle the trash and recycling collection: current contractor Waste Management, a global company based in Texas with facilities in Marquette; North Country Disposal of Marquette; and Eagle Waste of Eagle River, Wisconsin.

The bids reflected different circumstances and time periods, but ultimately city officials said the rolling cart option would be less expensive than using the green bag system Marquette property owners currently enjoy.

For a 10-year contract covering curbside cart pickup, Eagle Waste was the low bidder. But due to the company’s stipulation that the recycling material be processed at its own facility, the Marquette County Solid Waste Management Authority’s recycling program would feel an impact, according to Randall Yelle, the authority’s chairman.

“If you guys don’t participate in the program,” Yelle told commissioners, “that’s going to affect the program for recycling for the other 21 municipalities, and it has to support itself. Without you people coming in, it probably will not.”

Yelle also said the authority wants to change its dual stream recycling program to a single stream one for commercial properties, calling for the addition of two more employees to the authority’s payrolls. But without the city’s participation, which Yelle said accounts for 52 percent of recycling efforts in the program, those jobs won’t be needed.

On the other side, commissioners talked about how Waste Management, which currently handles the city’s trash and recycling collection services, has property in the city and pays taxes. They also said the city receives proportionate revenue from the sale of its recyclable material that’s brought to the Marquette County landfill, something it would lose if the service contract is given to Eagle Waste.

Much of what’s being discussed will have some impact on city coffers and residents’ pocketbooks, though maybe not a significant one. It is possible, however, the switch from bags to carts, if the city decides to take that route, could cause some consternation for residents.

The carts could be large enough where some residents may have difficulties dragging them out to the curb if we get more than a few inches of snow on trash day.

But they could also allow for the retirement of the green bag system, thereby saving residents the hassle of having to spend additional money beyond their utility bill to have their trash picked up.

City commissioners have a few different angles to consider, and we encourage residents to voice their opinions on where the see the city going from here.

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