City Council ends curbside recycling, discuss outsourcing the service

Hopkinsville City Council Members voted to end the city’s curbside recycling program at their Tuesday meeting and discussed plans to explore third-party recycling services.

At their August 5 meeting, council members approved an ordinance to end the Hopkinsville Solid Waste Enterprise’s curbside recycling program due to low participation. Hopkinsville Solid Waste was reportedly losing around $230,000 per year to operate the program.

Since then, some residents have voiced their opposition to the program’s termination. Before the council voted on the ordinance again, citizen Betty Howard urged them to consider the community's opinions and to gather more information about the program before making a decision.

When it came time to vote, Ward 6 Council Member Travis Martin made a motion to delay the vote for 60 days to receive more community input. However, if the decision was delayed, then the city would have to directly pay to extend the program.

City Chief Financial Officer Melissa Clayton says Hopkinsville Solid Waste can’t afford to run the program for 60 additional days. She says it would cost around $50,000 to run the program for two more months.

Hopkinsville Solid Waste Board Member Wendell Lynch says they have explored different ways to keep the program including price hikes. Program members currently pay $5.50 per month for the service.

In order to keep the program afloat with its current 1,082 members, the monthly cost would have to increase to $32.50. Lynch says that the increase could run off some customers, but Martin says they could still share that amount with the public to possibly preserve the program.

Ward 5 Council Member Amy Craig says she was excited when the recycling program was implemented and thought there would be enough public interest so that Hopkinsville Solid Waste could at least financially break even. But the program doesn’t have enough public support to continue, and Craig says a vote delay won’t change that.

The council decided not to delay the decision and voted to end the program. The ordinance goes into effect on September 30. To continue providing recycling services, council members discussed partnering with a third-party recycling company. Clayton says the council would have to amend an ordinance to allow a non-local recycling company to come into the city, and the service will likely be pricier for customers.

The council approved a motion by Ward 4 Council Member Chuck Crabtree to explore outsourcing the city’s recycling service.

The council also approved a municipal order allowing the Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority to increase wholesale water rates for the Christian County Water District. The rate change will be implemented in three stages. On October 1, the rate will change to $3.07, and after a year, it will increase to $3.53. Then on October 1, 2027, the rate will be $3.98.