▼

Pay as You Throw FAQs

Show All Answers

1. Who does the PAYT program include?

• All households within city limits should enroll. Services will be provided to residents that use individual, wheeled carts. Customers who do not select a service level will default to the medium trash with medium recycling option.
• Mobile home parks and homeowner associations (HOAs) whose residents use individual accounts are included. 
  • Home Owners Associations (HOAs) and Property Managers, please contact us at 970-930-1411 for assistance on how best to enroll.
    
  • Associations with group contracts will have up to one year after program implementation (depending on existing contracts) to switch to the PAYT system.
  • HOA residents without a group contract for trash/recycling services should enroll now as individual households.
  • Associations with group water accounts may also enroll as a group PAYT account.
• If your attached dwelling unit (ADU) currently has separate utility bills, it will also have separate trash and recycling service.
• All short-term rentals in city limits are required to use the largest size option for trash and recycling.

Excluded:

• Residents outside the city limits of Glenwood Springs 
• Multi-family residences of eight units or more
• Residential complexes that use a large shared dumpster to collect trash from multiple households
• Businesses and commercial addresses

2. Why is PAYT being implemented now?

To incentivize waste reduction, reduce truck traffic in neighborhoods, and increase proper recycling. This will help us protect roads and extend the lifespan of the South Canyon Landfill.

3. What is the anticipated timeline on this process?

The City conducted a competitive bidding process to select a single hauler starting in late 2022. Staff had previously been keeping current haulers apprised of the new system.

• September 2022 - Public Input to inform the Request for proposal (RFP) process
• November 2022 - RFP Process
• March-April 2023 - Contract Negotiations
• June 2023 - Final Contract Approved
• July 2023 - Enrollment period and cart selection begins
• October 2023 - Implementation and rollout
• November 2023 - Curbside trash and recycling service begins. Billing is anticipated to begin in November 2023.

4. How will residents get new services?

• Information on how and when residents can sign up for the new service will be posted on the City’s website and distributed in monthly utility bills next year – information will be provided in both English and Spanish
• Residents will be able to sign up in person, by phone or online – English- and Spanish-speaking staff will be available for those who need extra assistance
• Residents will be able to change their service levels once the program is rolled out
• City staff will be dedicated to operations going forward and will be available to address service complaints, change cart sizes and answer questions
• Billing will be a monthly utility bill from the city, similar to water and electric bills

5. What if I don’t sign up for service?

The enrollment period for the PAYT trash and recycling program ended August 18, 2023. Any applicable residences that did not complete enrollment will be automatically enrolled at the default level which is the medium trash with medium recycling option ($25.44 per month).

Only households that enrolled are eligible to take advantage of the 60-day grace period to change service levels at no cost. Households that did not enroll  but want to change service levels later will have to pay the $25 container exchange fee per container.

6. What is the plan for carts?

• What are the cart size options and what will the new prices be?
  • The size options for trash will be 32 gallons every other week, 32 gallons, 64 gallons, and 96 gallons.
  • The size options for recycling carts will be 32, 64 and 96 gallons.You can select any size for recycling as long as you recycle cart is the same size or larger than your trash cart.
  • Pricing will include both trash and recycling.
• Will I get brand new carts?
  • Maybe – the hauler is allowed to reuse existing carts if they are usable.
• What happens to my old carts?
  • The hauler may choose to refurbish and use them if they own them, or they may not, it is up to the hauler.  If your old carts are owned by a hauler who does not win the bidding process they will take back their carts.
• What if I sign up for a large trash cart but really only need a small one?
  • You may call the city and request a size change, during the sixty month of the program this will be free.
• What if I have more trash than fits in my cart?
  • You may bring your extra trash to the recycle center or the landfill and throw it away for $4 per bag.  If you leave it at the curb you will be charged an overflow fee which will be more than $4/bag.
• What if my neighbor and I want to share a cart?
  • We don’t have a way to do this, but the cheapest and smallest option should be very affordable for people who are conscious of their waste.

Cart Swap Details 

In October or the early weeks of November, customers will receive mailed information about your trash and recycling day of the week, pick up calendars, and recycling information. Existing carts will be picked up either by the trash hauler who owns the cart or by the city. Mountain Waste and Recycling will drop-off new carts to each household. 

Collection will occur at the curb or alley line depending on the customer’s property and current service location. An exhibit of where the cart should be place during your pickup day will be included in the information packet sent to you. 

7. What is the pricing for carts?

There will be four basic options for trash service levels – large, medium, small, and super-saver. Every resident will have recycling service provided every-other-week as part of the bundled service. The super-saver trash service option will be collected every other week and will be priced comparably to taking two to three bags of trash to the Recycle Center every month, but with the convenience of curbside pick-up.

The three other trash service level options will be picked up weekly: small (about 32-gallon cart), medium (about 64-gallon cart), and large (about 96-gallon cart). The small cart holds approximately two tall kitchen bags, the medium holds about five bags and the large holds up to seven. 

2023 Service Options and Details

Recycling carts are bundled with trash service. Recycling carts will be available in the three three cart sizes for collection every other week (recycling cart size will not change the bundled price).

Trash Cart Options (Collected weekly*) *Super saver options are collected every-other-week	Single-stream Recycling Cart Options (Collected every-other-week)	Monthly Price
Super Saver (32 gallons*)	Small, Medium, or Large	$10.80 per month
Small (32 gallons)	Small, Medium, or Large	$12.72 per month
Medium (64 gallons)	Medium or Large	$25.44 per month
Large (96 gallons)	Large	$38.16 per month
Wildlife Resistant Super Saver (32 gallons*)	Small, Medium, or Large	$22.80 per month
Wildlife Resistant Small (32 gallons)	Small, Medium, or Large	$24.72 per month
Wildlife Resistant Medium (64 gallons)	Medium or Large	$49.44 per month
Wildlife Resistant Large (96 gallons)	Large	$74.16 per month

Additional Fee Schedule:

• Overflow Trash: $12.72 per occurrence
• Container Delivery/Exchange (after the initial 60-day grace period): $25.00
• Container Replacement (excludes delivery): 
  • Small: 45.00
  • Medium: $50.00
  • Large: $55.00
  • Wildlife Resistant Small: $200.00
  • Wildlife Resistant Medium: 215.00
  • Wildlife Resistant Large: $230.00
• Additional Weekly Large Trash and Every Other Week Recycle: $76.32 per month
• Additional Weekly Large Trash and Every Other Week Recycle – Wildlife: $148.32 per month

8. What if I already have a wildlife resistant container?

The contractor will service some existing wildlife carts (to be determined on a case-by-case basis). Wildlife Resistant Trash service is on an annual basis (12-month minimum).

Mountain Waste and Recycling will be able to service existing wildlife carts in the "Rear Load Truck" section of town. The rear load trucks are manually operated thus owner carts can be utilized. The rest of town will be serviced by Automatic Side Load trucks and will require these addresses to utilize compatible carts leased from Mountain Waste as part of this program. The cost of the wildlife-resistant service reflects the higher capital cost of the carts and the average damage rate at approximately 1.5 to 2.5 years for cart replacement.

Households that already have wildlife-resistant carts that are not compatible with the service trucks have the option to participate in the wildlife cart buy-back program which will cover up to 75% of the original purchase price of the cart with a max of $225 per household. 

9. How will billing for the new system work?

Services are expected to begin in November 2023 and will be billed through the City's Finance Department on water bills. Customers should enroll now through August 4 to select your carts.

10. What if I take my trash to the Recycle Center/landfill/other and don’t need service?

If you currently use the punch pass system at the Recycle Center or bring your bags to the Landfill, the smallest bin option under PAYT (Super Saver) is priced comparably to taking two to three bags of trash for disposal every month, but with the convenience of curbside pick-up. The punch pass system will continue for people who live outside city limits and for extra trash or recycling.

The Super Saver is $10.80 per month and accommodates approximately two (2) tall kitchen garbage bags every two weeks. The contractor will provide a 32-gallon trash container that will be picked up every other week. With the Super Saver option, you can request a small, medium or large single-stream recycling cart at no additional cost.

11. What if I don’t want to recycle?

Recycling will be included in the service for all applicable residents and will be part of your service bill even if you chose not to use it. One of the core goals of this problem is to encourage materials that can be recycled to be recycled instead of taking up space in the landfill.

12. Can I opt out?

There is no opt-out option for applicable residents; however, the smallest bin option under PAYT (Super Saver) is priced comparably to taking two to three bags of trash for disposal every month, but with the convenience of curbside pick-up. The Super Saver is $10.80 per month and accommodates approximately two (2) tall kitchen garbage bags every two weeks. The contractor will provide a 32-gallon trash container that will be picked up every other week. With the Super Saver option, you have the option of a small, medium, or large single-stream recycling cart with every-other-week pick-up at no additional cost.

Further, accounts will be able to request temporary holds in service for a minimum of three and a maximum of four months once each calendar year. 

Zooming out, let’s look at why we’re implementing the program this way – 

With PAYT, we are treating waste and recycling services like any other utility to create a financially sustainable system. On your other utility bills, you will notice that there is a base fee you will pay even in a month where you may have used no water or electricity. This base fee exists to pay for the maintenance and operation of that utilities’ infrastructure which we must continue to maintain regardless of the individual level of use. Infrastructure that must be maintained to meet our waste and recycling needs includes everything from trash trucks, to landfill employees, to recycle centers, to processing equipment, to the permits required to manage waste – all of these things have a cost. Everyone in our community uses this infrastructure at some point in the waste management process and by having a tiered pricing system, we balance sharing the cost and requiring folks who produce the most waste to pay the most back to the system. 

Under our new waste and recycling system, by starting smallest option at $10.80 per month, it allows us to provide basic trash and recycling pickup plus maintain all the waste and recycling services that our community desires. These services include our annual hazardous waste collection day, seasonal and weekend yard waste drop-offs in South Glenwood, free compost drop-off at the recycle center, and household battery recycling at the recycle center. Without a sustainable and holistic utility, we will not be able to continue these great free services. 

Lastly, moving to this single-hauler system will have major benefits to Glenwood residents. It will mean:

• less truck traffic in town (safer streets, less exhaust fumes, protects neighborhood character)
• less damage to our streets (a single trip from a trash truck causes the same damage as 9,000 passenger vehicle tips on our roads)
• less greenhouse gas emissions (from trash trucks and individual trips for household disposal at the recycle center and landfill)
• more convenient access to recycling (curbside is part of every person’s service)
• better control and oversight of what happens to recycling (quarterly reports, contamination prevention)
• incentives to reduce overall waste (the less you waste, the less you spend)
• extending the life of our landfill (75% of the material we're throwing away could be recycled in existing recycling and composting programs)

13. What if I have a problem with my cart?

• You may call the city and request a size change for free during the 60-days after implementation.
• To report a problem with service, if your cart is damaged, or if you want to change a cart size you will contact the city.

14. Can I still get food waste and yard waste collected?

Yes, if you are currently using an organics pickup service you may continue using that service. Using an organics pickup service can help keep your waste amount low so that you can use the most affordable trash option.

Residents may also take advantage of free food scraps drop off at the recycle center and the yard waste drop off at the old rodeo grounds every other weekend.

15. What happens if I put trash in my recycling cart?

If you put trash in your recycling cart your recycling will not be collected.

16. What if I have more trash than fits in my cart?

Be sure to select the trash cart size that is best for your household. Overflow trash in your cart will incur a $12.72 fee per occurrence.

Extra trash can also be disposed of at the recycle center or the landfill for $4 per bag.

17. Does PAYT include curbside organics (compostables) collection?

No. 

For curbside pickup, PAYT is just for trash and recycling collection at this time. However, residents may already begin taking advantage of free food scraps drop off at the recycle center and the yard waste drop off at the old rodeo grounds every other weekend.

 While curbside organics collection is not part of this initial round of implementation, conversations with city council have been supportive of the potential to implement this in the future.

18. Non-eligible Service Addresses for PAYT

Thank you for your interest in the City of Glenwood Springs Pay as You Throw (PAYT) Trash and Recycling Program.

 At this time, the following types of services addresses are not eligible to enroll:

• Multi-family units with eight or more units
• Addresses that utilize a shared dumpster.
• Service addresses outside the city limits of Glenwood Springs
• Commercial addresses

If you believe that you received this message in error, please return to the enrollment form.

For questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Bryana Starbuck via email at bryana.starbuck@cogs.us or by phone/text at 970-930-1411.

THANK YOU!

19. What do I do with yard waste?

Residents are encouraged to take advantage of the summer yard waste drop-off operating every other Saturday from May through September.

This summer event flows into the ongoing autumnal leaf drop and holiday tree recycling programs. Throughout the year, South Canyon Landfill will accept yard waste from anyone for a fee. At the landfill there are two piles, one for brush & wood and the other for grass, leaves & small plants; both get composted.

20. What can be recycled in the curbside carts?

The PAYT recycling carts are single-stream, so you don't need to separate your recycling. You'll also leave your recycling items unbagged. Like your trash cart, you'll always want to be able to close the lid (no cardboard stacked next to your cart).

What items you CAN recycle curbside:

• Newspapers (including inserts)
• Mixed paper
• Phone books
• Steel or tin cans (rinsed)
• Plastic milk jug
• Corrugated cardboard (flattened)
• Chipboard (cereal and tissue boxes)
• Plastic #1-6 (if not labeled, do not recycle)
• Pie tins
• Magazines
• Office paper
• Brown paper bags
• Aluminum cans (do not crush)
• Glass bottles and jars (rinsed)
• Detergent bottles
• Bulk or junk mail
• Plastic Clam shells #1-6 (No PLA)

Learn more at Mountain Waste & Recycling's Disposal/Recycle Guide webpage.