St. Paul plans to expand and improve its recycling services in 2017, starting with wheeled and lidded carts to replace the currently used tubs, and also collecting food scraps and food-soiled paper.
The city's Public Works Department announced Thursday that it is seeking bids from companies to provide more convenient recycling services for houses and apartments, city buildings and public spaces.
Contracts for most of the services would be awarded next spring, with the new system to begin by Jan. 1, 2017. A separate contract for organics recycling will be put out for bids next spring.
"We want a high quality program that maximizes the amount of material that gets recycled … at a competitive price," said Anne Hunt, the city's environmental policy director.
What that price will be, Hunt couldn't say Thursday. But she noted that what St. Paul residents now pay for recycling services, currently provided by nonprofit Eureka Recycling of Minneapolis, is on the high end of the metro-area spectrum.
Recycling services would continue to be offered weekly, Hunt said. Most of the carts would hold 64 gallons, with customers having the option of choosing bigger ones (96 gallons, such as those in Minneapolis) or smaller (34 gallons) as needed. Tubs now used hold 18 gallons of recyclables.
Among the other recycling changes planned by the city for 2017: alley collection, where feasible; better service for multifamily residential buildings, including more education and the possible use of dumpsters rather than carts; and more recycling options in public areas such as parks and event centers.
Hunt said that the city expects these changes will result in a 35 percent increase in recycling tons and a 15 percent increase in participation.
