City shelves curbside recycling program, new bear-proof trash containers likely

The arrival of spring in Whitefish means the return of bears and therefore trash and recycling need to be secured. Residents also anticipated spring to be the start of a new citywide recycling program, however, now the city has put the program on hold indefinitely.

Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith told the Pilot last week that a shortage of resources, namely a staff shortage, is affecting the decision to hold off on curbside recycling. She added that although recycling is part of the City’s Climate Action Plan, for now, the Council has asked staff to hold off on pursuing a recycling plan.

"We are not at this point implementing a curbside recycling program which was reported (by various sources) to start in mid-month in error," she said.

Last October during a public hearing, residents voiced concerns with curbside recycling because it could exacerbate the issue of unsecured animal attractants. After the feedback from the public, council did not go ahead with a contract with Republic Services and later directed staff to hold off on the program, according to Smith.

Prior to considering a curbside program, the city had a central recycling site on the corner of Columbia Avenue and Railway Street. Issues with overuse and contamination at the site caused the city to begin thinking about creating a new central recycling site. Early in 2021, council sought bids for both a new central site and a curbside recycling program.

Staff considered the pros and cons of each recycling alternative and with council's direction, they heard public comment on the matter. In December 2021, after three public hearings, it was determined the potential for serious bear-human incidents was too high to proceed and no action was taken on a contract.

A previous Pilot article reported that the city was still planning a mandatory curbside recycling program in December 2021, but knew that both trash and recycling containers needed to be animal-resistant. The cost was also likely to fall on the residents, and council wasn’t entirely comfortable with pushing that onto the people who live and operate businesses in Whitefish.

Council then requested a bid from Republic to continue operating the centralized site on Railway Street but the cost was prohibitive so the city decided to close the city’s central recycling site early in 2022 despite not having a curbside program in place.

City Council had passed an ordinance last December to implement a mandatory curbside program, but now the work to pursue that has been tabled by the city.

Smith says the city is encouraging residents to take recycling to the county facility or contact one of several vendors who provide recycling services to the area. For more information, visit https://www.cityofwhitefish.org/328/Recycling.

As far as keeping bears out of the trash, the city plans to move away from the 300-gallon containers in the alleys toward individual, animal-resistant containers. Council is scheduled to discuss a contract with Republic Services at the meeting on April 18.

Smith said individuals could see a potential monthly increase in their bill of about five dollars and Republic will provide the bear-rated containers.

“The hope is that by implementing this program citywide we will reduce the animal attractants and limit the risk of a potentially serious bear and human conflict,” Smith said.

The city warns the bears are out and it is a good time to make sure garbage is kept secured and put out only on the morning of pick-up service per the city code. Since recycled goods can also attract animals, they need to be stored properly as well. If council approves the new animal-resistant containers, there will no longer be a need to move them indoors between pickup days.

In addition to dealing with animal attractants, Smith says the city’s main focus is on the housing shortage.