Twin Falls City Council approves new sanitation contract to keep recycling

The Twin Falls City Council approved a new 10-year sanitation contract on Monday night that keeps curbside recycling in place and expands the materials residents can collect. The decision follows a citizen survey that found strong public support for the program.

The new agreement will cost households $6.53 per month for solid waste and an additional $5.79 per month for recycling. The recycling service will pick up mixed paper, newspaper, and No. 1 and No. 2 plastics twice a month. City officials said the service could eventually include glass collection.

Mayor Jason Brown told the council that the survey results made the choice clear. He noted that 85% of respondents supported keeping the recycling program. "It was actually really quite surprising for me to see that again about 85% of the respondents really supported the recycling program," Brown said.

Chelsea, a city official, pointed to the high turnout of the survey as proof that residents want more recycling options. "We had an outstanding number of participants for the survey. If there's more accepted for recycling, they want it, they want to keep it," Chelsea said.

Contamination has been a persistent problem for the city's curbside collection. Residents often put non-recyclable items in the orange-lid cans, which has sent entire loads to the landfill. Under the new contract with PSI, the provider agrees to notify the city when recycling loads end up in the landfill.

Brown said clearer guidelines on what can be recycled will help reduce errors. He noted that residents have asked for specific instructions on which plastics are accepted. "One of the things that we've heard from our citizens was, 'What can't go in?' You'll recycle number two, number three plastic, whatever it may be at that point, and having a clearer understanding of what that is, I think will be a big success going forward," Brown said.

The new services will begin on Jan. 1, 2027. The city asked PSI for bids in December 2025 that included and excluded the cost of residential recycling to determine the financial impact of keeping the program.