BLAINE, Minn. – (Jan. 6, 2017) – When the calendar changed to 2017 a small change went into effect when it comes to garbage and recycling collection in Blaine. All homes in the city are serviced by Walters Recycling and Refuse under the city wide contract. Property owners are billed quarterly for the service.
Residents can choose a level of service that meets their needs. While the low and medium service levels are remaining the same the top level of service will see some changes.
“The top level of service is now called premium, used to be unlimited. The biggest changes are instead of as many garbage carts as you want you get up to three 96 gallon carts. And, instead of unlimited amount of bulk that you can set out. You can set out up to six bulk items per calendar year” said Blaine recycling coordinator Roark Haver.
List of recyclable material in Blaine
General Blaine recycling and garbage information
Walters Recycling and Refuse
“The top level of service is now called premium, used to be unlimited. The biggest changes are instead of as many garbage carts as you want you get up to three 96 gallon carts. And, instead of unlimited amount of bulk that you can set out. You can set out up to six bulk items per calendar year” said Blaine recycling coordinator Roark Haver.
There were a few reasons for the change. Walters and Blaine staff noticed that not many people were using more than 2 garbage carts, but bigger reason was the large rise in bulk item disposals.
“The people who were producing most of the bulk were producing so much bulk on a consistent basis. That we believe that a lot of that material was coming from outside the city or being produced by some kind of home business. That’s just not equitable” said Haver.
The premium service will cost $57 per quarter a $3 increase over the previous unlimited service. The recycling service remains unlimited for all residents no mater what level of garbage service you pick.
According to Haver, “there is just not much that you buy in a week to week operation of your household that is not recyclable.”
If you need additional recycling carts they are provided at no additional charge and can help in keeping your total bill lower.
“Best way to save money on your total garbage bill is to recycle as much material as possible and use the lowest or smallest size garbage cart” said Haver.
