The recycling dumpster will remain in alleys for trash collection.
ST. LOUIS — The City of St. Louis will no longer provide alley recycling.
In a press release, the city said the change is effective immediately, and the workers who had been collecting recycling will now focus on trash collection. The recycling bins will remain in the alley to be used for trash collection, and will be marked as such.
The city urged residents to bring recyclable materials to one of 25 drop-off recycling locations, and said they plan to add about a dozen more locations in the next 90 days. When the additional locations open, the city said it hopes to have a drop-off within one mile of every home.
“St. Louisans deserve better than having trash overflowing behind their homes, and they deserve a government that is honest about what it can deliver,” said Mayor Spencer. “By making these changes, we end the costly and ineffective effort that alley recycling had become, despite the good intentions, and we improve our ability to collect trash, which is one of the basic and most crucial services our City is tasked with delivering.”
The city said recycling costs almost five times more per ton than trash, and nearly half of the recyclable materials collected last year were rejected due to contamination.
The city said the $14 refuse collection fee will remain unchanged. In the press release, the city said its trash, yard waste, bulk pickup and recycling programs cost about $28 million. The fee covers $16.5 million, with the remaining $11.5 million being covered by tax dollars.
Alley recycling was paused in May to allow crews to help with debris removal associated with the May 16 tornado. The program was supposed to resume on July 1, but residents reported seeing recycling and trash being picked up by the same trucks.