Trash bill passes St. Louis City committee; Recycling included

By David Hunn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/city-hall/2010/06/trash-bill-passes-st-louis-city-committee-single-stream-recycling-included/

Blue recycling dumpsters will be coming soon to a St. Louis alley near you. City dwellers will be paying for them, however.

The city aldermen’s Ways & Means committee passed the trash bill this morning, a step which will likely lead to the full board passing the measure next week.

The new program will charge $11 per month per unit – $132 per year – for trash pickup, which has been historically free in the city. In exchange, the city will add single-stream recycling, city-wide. Workers will begin moving the blue dumpsters into alleys as soon as possible, if the board of aldermen indeed pass the measure.

And it is certainly possible – however unlikely – that the bill won’t pass. There was vocal opposition from some aldermen this morning, concerned about enforcement and about fairness. Some felt the fee amounted to an illegal tax on residents, passed without a vote of the people.

The city’s attorney told the board it is not illegal.

But that didn’t squelch all complaint. Landlords and apartment owners have been particularly frustrated, said Bryan Young, president of St. Louis Investment Property Association – who noted that a four-unit building would be charged $528 per year.

“There is a lot of anger about all this,” he said. “They’re really ticked off.”

The bill goes before the board of aldermen tomorrow, and could pass next week.