When pick-up of recycled materials in the city of Peoria changed from monthly to every other week, it called for recycling bins to be placed at the front of houses instead of alleys. That caused a problem for 2400 households where it’s difficult to move bins from alleys to front curbs. Money has caused a problem in reaching a solution.
The city and PDC dispute the number of households being served. The city believes PDC is making pick-ups at 2000 fewer houses, meaning a savings of $260 thousand. Councilman Zach Oyler suggested pick-ups continue in alleys but on a monthly basis.
"As it sat, I think it was going to ge3t deferred which meant the heritage neighborhoods would continue to have curbside pickup and this was an opportunity to take that burden away on the short-term while we continue to evaluate this," says Oyler.
Oyler’s motion passed 6-4 as an interim solution through July 1.
City manager Patrick Urich says, in the interim, the city and recycle contractor PDC Services will negotiate a dispute over how many households are served.
"The difference is 2,000 households is the difference between what we think the count is and what PDC thinks the count is. So that’s what we’re going to work toward over the next two months is working with them to try to get some resolution. If our number’s right, that’s about $260 thousand less we’ll be paying to PDC," says Urich.
PDC will notify households south of Forrest Hill as to their pickup date for recyclables. Houses north of Forrest Hill will continue with every other week pickup.