Update: August 2019
At the July 22 City Council workshop (view video), City staff presented a summary of information received from waste hauling companies that responded to the City’s Request for Proposals as part of the Organized Waste Hauling project.
Council is now considering placing a non-binding advisory question on the November election ballot. An advisory question is an opportunity for voters to demonstrate their preference to Council about a topic or issue. “Non-binding” means that Council retains the ability to make a final decision. If Council decides to move forward with an organized system, an ordinance would need to be written allowing the City to explore a contract with a waste hauler. Passing an ordinance requires a public hearing, and the public would be allowed to weigh in. If Council approves the ordinance, the City is then allowed to negotiate 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 and volume-based pricing. Other details will be worked out during contract negotiations. Staff is providing additional information to Council as it develops the language for the potential ballot. Council will be exploring that information at meetings between now and Aug. 26. If you are interested in viewing or attending any of the meetings, visit arvada.org/attend-or-view-a-city-council-meeting. Please keep in mind that public comment is only available at Council business meetings.
Our Engagement Approach
UPDATE: The initial engagement approach for this project included several phases, the first of which was the survey that residents responded to on Speak Up Arvada. Staff anticipated a second in-depth public engagement period designed to gather more detailed input on potential waste hauling options.
For now, the City is pausing the in-depth community engagement in order to focus on supporting the development of the ballot question and, if Council decides to add the ballot measure, sharing information about the project to the widest possible set of potential voters.
Depending on the outcome of the current process, the City may provide additional engagement opportunities in the future.
Look for updates here, on our other communication platforms and in the Arvada Report.
Why Explore Waste Hauler Options
In response to results from the Arvada Citizen Survey and recommendations from the City’s Sustainability Advisory Committee, the City of Arvada has begun an exploration of ways to organize waste hauling in our community. In February 2019, City Council allowed residents to ask questions regarding the topic at the Council workshop. View the City Council Workshop video (The topic of waste hauling begins at 1:43:32). View those questions along with staff responses.
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 Citizen Survey, two-thirds of residents supported the idea of an organized trash-hauling and recycling system. In December of 2018, Arvada's citizen-led Sustainability Advisory Committee presented their recommendations to Council for an organized trash-hauling recycling system.
The City anticipates this project to 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
Contact
City Manager's Office, 720-898-7500
The City of Arvada explored waste-hauling in 2011. If you would like to view the results of the study, you may download the document here. Download the 2011 Residential Hauling Study (2.17MB)
For additional resources regarding recycling, visit arvada.org/recycling-resources.