In an attempt to lower landfill costs and prolong the life of Eugene landfills, the city will be enacting a mandatory yard debris program in September.
The program will add $3.20 to each month’s garbage bill, but some residents will actually save money in the long run, said Sam Miller, co-owner of Lane Garbage-APEX Disposal Service.
“People are already paying extra rates for putting bags of grass on the curb or filling up their cans with yard debris rather than garbage,” Miller said.
Nancy Young, solid waste/recycling analyst for Eugene Planning and Development, said yard debris currently makes up 10 percent of most landfills. She said this program will extend the life of the landfills and be convenient for Eugene residents.
“This program will add a convenience to those who haul their own yard debris because it provides a service they can count on,” Young said. “For those materials people don’t want to compost, it also provides an environmentally friendly alternative.”
But not everybody is as optimistic about the program.
Steven Kuhn, who co-owns ASW disposal with his wife, said the yard debris program is going to hurt his hauling business and upset his customers.
“When we put this higher cost on the bill, it angers people,” Kuhn said. “The program is a good idea, but the fact that it’s mandatory is bad.”
Miller, who supports the plan, said his company will have to add a separate truck to its pick-up operation, as will all other hauling companies. But a portion of the money from the program will compensate for the truck and its drop-off to either Lane Forest Products or Rexius Forest By-Products Inc.
Hauling companies will also be responsible for providing customers with a 65-gallon can marked for yard debris only.
Young said the city took into consideration the cost of adding trucks to a hauling company, the increased number of workers necessary and many other factors when determining how much to charge for the program.
“If people are able to put the yard debris that would have gone into their garbage cans into a separate can, they can possibly lower their garbage can size or reduce the number of times their garbage is picked up, which would lower their bill,” Young said.
Garbage cans are issued by area haulers. The most widely used can size is 32 gallons.
Those residents who use a 21-gallon can, live in an apartment building, mobile home park or a condominium or have 32-gallon cans emptied only once a month will not use the yard debris program.