Spanish Fork nears launch of recycling program

SPANISH FORK — A planned recycling program is getting close to its start-up target of 2,000 subscribers.

More than 1,400 Spanish Fork households have signed up since May, said assistant city manager Seth Perrins. There's a possibility the voluntary recycling program could get under way sooner with a 17-cent difference per month in the price the city pays. The proposed monthly fee for residents is $6 per household.

The monthly base rate paid to Allied Waste would be $5 until subscriptions exceed 2,000. Then it will drop to $4,83, Perrins told the Spanish Fork City Council in a recent meeting. If diesel exceeds $2.50 a gallon, a fuel surcharge will be added.

The price could also change if Allied Waste has to pay to get rid of certain recyclable items where the market has bottomed out. The $6 fee now has a built-in buffer for that, Perrins said.

Signing up for the service is voluntary, but sign-ups are for a six-month minimum. The city is looking at providing the service every other week on Mondays or Tuesdays, the same as trash pickup days in Spanish Fork, with trucks emptying the blue recycle cans on just one side of the street.

If the service proves unpopular and subscriptions drop below 1,400, Allied can shut the program down, Perrins said.

— Rodger L. Hardy