Omaha, Neb., Braces for Higher Recycling Costs

The city of Omaha, Neb., is bracing to pay more for residential recycling and is looking at a bill of up to $4 million.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, the city’s mayor and City Council have discussed setting aside up to $2 million in the 2021 budget for recycling costs. However, the city’s only bid from Firstar Fiber to process recycling came in at nearly double the city’s estimated costs.

The report notes that if the bid is accepted for 2021 through 2026, the city would go in one decade from profiting from recycling to paying $4 million a year. Officials have said a $2 million cost could be managed without a tax increase; however, it’s unclear what might happen if the recycling contract costs $4 million.

Omaha World-Herald has more:

Omaha has been bracing to pay more to recycle residents’ plastic, paper and aluminum. This week, city officials got their first look at the new bill: up to $4 million.

Mayor Jean Stothert and the City Council have for months discussed the need to set aside up to $2 million in the 2021 city budget for recycling costs. But when the city unsealed the sole bid to process recycling Wednesday, officials learned that the estimated cost could double.

Stothert told The World-Herald that the bid from current processor Firstar Fiber is “so unacceptable” that she’s considering all options, including rebidding the contract with a different approach.

Read the full article here.