HOLLAND — On Wednesday, the Holland City Council will hear a task force’s recommendation that the city switch from “yellow bag” recycling to a cart system.
The materials management task force will present its findings at a council study session, which is a non-voting meeting during which the council receives information and discusses business.
Holland residents recycle by putting their recyclable items in yellow recycling bags which are placed in a curbside bin together with trash bags, in what’s called a commingled recycling system. Trash and recycling are picked up at the same time, transported together and later sorted.
The task force studied the effectiveness of the bag program and found problems with the bags tearing during their collection and compaction in the garbage trucks, resulting in contamination of recyclables.
They will recommend that the city renegotiate its contract with Republic Services to move to a cart system, in which recyclables would be collected curbside in a separate cart.
Currently, the city has a five-year contract with Republic that expires in 2023. City Manager Keith Van Beek said it’s too early to consider what it would look like if the council wanted to make changes to the contract.
It’s important to put Holland’s recycling situation in the context of the global market for recyclables, Van Beek also said. Ever since China tightened its standards for what recyclables it would import, the ripple effects have been felt across the U.S. and the standards for what’s accepted in recycling programs have become more stringent.
In Douglas, residents asked their city council to look into their contract with Republic Services last summer over concerns about how much recyclable material disposed of through the commingled program was actually being recycled.
In response, Republic Services proposed providing each residence with a separate recycling cart and picking up recyclables once a month, but the council rejected the proposal and decided to stick with the yellow bag program provided for in their contract with Republic.
The Commercial Record reported that council members were concerned about how infrequent the pickups would be and about altering their contract with Republic.
At Wednesday’s study session, which begins at 5:30 p.m., council will also hear updates on several ongoing programs, including the Robertson Brain Health program and the short-term rental pilot, and will review the Holland Historical Trust agreement.