Dive Brief:
- Tucson, AZ is working on an intergovernmental agreement with South Tucson to provide curbside trash service for South Tucson's 1,200 residents.
- South Tucson residents would pay an estimated $1.26 more a month than Tucson residents, who pay $15 to $16.75 a month, which will be a steep increase for South Tucson which was paying as little a $4 a month to privately-owned Waste Management.
- Currently, South Tucson is leasing trucks and garbage cans from the city of Tucson to provide curbside trash service, after Waste Management stopped providing service due to about $300,000 in unpaid fees.
Dive Insight:
Tucson Councilman Steve Kozachik said providing curbside trash pick up to South Tucson would be a sound business decision.
"We have the capacity," Kozachik said, calling the route the equivalent of a large neighborhood.
As trash and the cost of dealing with it has increased around the country, Bucknell University published a study in Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, examining the economics of trash collection. It reported that increased costs were attributed to more frequent collections, use of backdoor collection service rather than curbside or alley service, and use of municipal resources rather than contracts with private collectors.
