Denver City Council’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard additional details on the city’s proposed volume-based waste services on Tuesday.

The proposed program would charge residents in single-family homes and small multifamily buildings a different amount monthly based on the size of trash bin they need. The fee structure would charge $9 for a small trash bin, $13 for a medium one and $21 for a large one. Recycling and composting would be included at no additional cost, with weekly pickup services on top of other solid waste services.

Currently, weekly trash and bimonthly recycling services are provided to residents for free, with an additional charge for composting. The new program would flip the narrative so residents pay based on what they send to the landfill as opposed to what they divert from it. The fees aren’t intended to generate new revenue, but rather to pay for the cost of the program.

Art Mejia, the city’s director of solid waste management, said that because of the additional equipment and staffing it will require, he doesn’t anticipate composting services to be fully implemented until January. Folks will get a $3 inconvenience fee due to the decrease in services, which Council member Paul Kashmann said he doesn’t think is enough considering this will be the newest piece of the program for most Denver residents. Right now, about 30,000 residents pay for composting services.

Mejia said there are also processes in place to assist those who might need help with moving carts to the curb on collection days. He said elderly, disabled and/or injured residents can call 311 and put in a work order and then supervisors will go to the house to come up with a plan that will work best for that home. Council President Stacie Gilmore asked if people with disabilities who use large amounts of medical products that must be thrown in the trash could have any kind of exemptions in the program, and city staff said they’d get back to her with an answer.

Council member Kendra Black pointed out that in the city’s solid waste master plan, volume-based pricing is a key recommendation, as well as recycling construction waste and getting commercial buildings involved. She also asked about disposing of larger items like mattresses and TVs, and city staff told her they will subsidize payments with a coupon to recycle these items at facilities able to do it.

Jessica Lally, who is the project manager for this program with the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, said the affordability program would provide qualifying households instant rebates on their invoices. Eligibility is based on the area median income, with households making 60% of the AMI getting a 50% rebate, 50% of the AMI getting a 75% rebate and 30% of the AMI getting a 100% rebate.

This aspect of the program is in coordination with Denver Human Services, Lally said, which would verify applications and define program rules. She said if the program is approved, folks will be able to apply for the affordability program before its rollout. Billing for the new waste services would be on the same billing cycle/timeline as the city’s waste water services.

Lally also explained the difference between fees for operation of the program versus fines for contamination, which she said raised questions previously. She said fines are issued to a person rather than the household and that they are incredibly rare. The city also doesn’t issue late fees, and Lally said city workers like to work with residents to come up with a payment plan if they notice missed payments.

The ultimate goal, though, is to have enough education that the fines will continue to be far and few between, Lally said. The city plans to send out a newsletter to residents to explain the new program, the fee structure, the rebate program, tips on properly recycling and composting, as well as contamination and the risk of being fined. Kashmann said he’s concerned that isn’t going to be enough.

“I struggled with some details of this program along the way and I have struggled with the idea of adding any fees at this point in time with the situation we’re in with inflation crazy and people still impacted by the pandemic,” said Kashmann, who later added: “At the same time, I fully recognize the importance of this element of addressing climate change, and so it’s not a one-sided thing for me.”

City staff estimated the implementation costs in the fourth quarter of 2022 will total just under $14 million.

If everything goes well, weekly recycling and invoices will kick off as soon as October. City staff will be back seeking committee approval on the program at a committee meeting in early June.

“This has been a priority of the council in like eight or nine of our 10 or 11 council priority lists to implement the solid waste master plan,” Council member Robin Kniech said. “It has actually been in our council goals more times than I think any other specific plan or topic.”