County council approves fee hike for green waste service

Under a fee schedule hike approved by members of the Cache County Council on Tuesday, local residents will receive year-round green waste service.

CACHE COUNTY – On a day when valley residents were coping with numerous fallen trees due to freak intense winds, the members of the Cache County Council approved an adjustment of solid waste collection and disposal fees that will fund green waste services on a year-round basis.

Acting in their capacity as the Board of Trustees of the Cache County Service Area #1, the council members gave a green light to an increase in county residents’ monthly trash fees ranging from $.50 to $1.

The increase was recommended by the members of the Cache County Solid Waste Advisory Board, most of whom are mayors of local communities.

Under the new plan, green waste drop sites will be provided in those communities throughout the year for a service fee of $.50 per month for all residents of the county service area outside of Logan. A compost facility for green waste products will also be operated year-round for a monthly fee of $.50 per household for all county residents.

The plan originally recommended by the advisory board in June called for monthly trash increases ranging from $.50 to $1.50 for those services.

While generally supporting the goal of providing enhanced green waste services, the county council members balked at the fact that the increased fee for Logan residents would only be $.50 per month compared to $1.50 for other county residents.

After hearing positive and negative opinions from residents in July, the county council voted down the originally proposed fee schedule and sent it back to the advisory board for reconsideration.

Cache County has been offering green waste collection and composting service in one form or another for 30 years, according to Issa Hamud, the Environmental Department Director for Logan City.

Until recently, green waste (leaves, tree branches and other organic material) was collected from drop sites in 15 valley communities, excluding Logan, only during the months of April and October.

The collected green waste materials are rendered into either compost or mulch and sold to county residents.

In addition to providing county residents with a convenient disposal service for yard debris, Hamud said the objective of the countywide Green Waste Program is to reduce the amount of organic material going into the Logan landfill, where green waste takes up valuable space and produces environmentally harmful methane gas.

Hamud said the higher cost of the original year-round green waste program would have funded daily servicing of the drop sites in local communities. Under the revised fee schedule, his sanitation team will make ends meet by making fewer pick-ups per week throughout the year.

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