Organized Waste Hauling 

The topic of waste hauling was scheduled to be discussed at the March 16 Council meeting. On March 13, due to the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation, the City declared a state of emergency, and on March 16, all City facilities were closed to the public; the March 16 Council meeting was subsequently canceled, and agenda items for that meeting, including waste hauling, were postponed until a future meeting (date TBD). Because the coronavirus situation has required City staff to focus on other pressing projects, the proposed ordinance and FAQs regarding waste hauling that we had planned to publish on this webpage have been delayed. While the project continues to be pursued, the supporting materials are not yet available. We will make them available as soon as we are able. Thank you for your patience.

Why Explore Waste Hauler Options

Arvada residents have consistently indicated that an efficient waste hauling system is extremely important to them (85% in the 2015 and prior citizen surveys); and in the 2017 and 2019 Community surveys, two-thirds of residents supported the idea of an organized trash-hauling and recycling system. In response to results from the Arvada Citizen Survey and recommendations from the City’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, the City of Arvada is exploring organized waste hauling in our community. The City anticipates this project would identify options that would be safer, cleaner and less expensive for the community by:

• Creating fewer trucks on the road (and less often) for:
  • increased safety
  • reduced road damage
  • decreased noise and air pollution
• Reducing costs to residents
• Increasing recycling options
• Increasing quality of customer service

Next Steps

Council has directed staff to gather more detailed information regarding pricing and service options for further consideration regarding next steps for the waste hauling issue. Future actions would include:

• An ordinance would need to be written allowing the City to explore a contract with a waste hauler.
• Council would need to approve the ordinance.
• The City would then be able to consider a contract with a waste hauler.
• At that point, community engagement opportunities would be considered.

Council has expressed that the service would most likely include:

• Curbside trash and recycling service
• Robust customer service requirements
• Volume-based pricing 

Other details would be worked out during contract negotiations if a contract were to be pursued.

Want to Learn More?

Explore resources, project timeline and community engagement.

Contact

City Manager's Office, 720-898-7500