Fulton recycling program won't be scrapped

County may be interested in participating, depending on cost as new vendor sought

Residents living within the Fulton city limits should not expect to see a pause in their curbside recycling pickup.

"They just need to do what they've been doing - setting it out on the curb," Mayor LeRoy Benton said Thursday.

The fate of commercial customers will probably be determined at an upcoming meeting. According to city administrator Bill Johnson, officials will meet and interview several vendors to find a resolution since Kingdom Projects officials announced the end to their recycling services at the end of December.

"Kingdom Projects had been running the commercial route for several years, but they will be out of the business Dec. 31," Johnson said.

City officials are creating a RFP - request for proposal - as part of seeking a commercial solution.

"We're doing a RFP to locate a company interested in performing those services that Kingdom Projects was providing," Johnson said. "On Dec. 20, we'll meet with prospective vendors."

One vendor will do the entire operation.

"We're going to pick one," Johnson added. "If we pick one, they will have a greater chance of success."

It's not known if recycling will go to processors in Jefferson City or Columbia, he said.

Recycling is currently not available in the county, and many of those residents took their recyclables to roll-off containers placed at Walmart and Sutherlands hardware store, according to Johnson.

"Those roll-off containers are no longer there," he said. "It is believed they were used predominantly by people living outside the city limits."

Johnson said city officials contacted county commissioners to see if something could be arranged for county residents.

"The RFP was worded in such a way there's a chance the containers will return," said Johnson, adding county financial support would be needed.

Gary Jungermann, presiding commissioner with the Callaway County Commission said he supports doing something but wants to wait until the Dec. 20 meeting when there will be more information.

"I would be interested in county recycling outside the city limits," he said Thursday, adding it was his personal opinion and not that of the entire board. "I said we would be interested up to a certain financial point."

If this goes through, however, Jungermann said he want the recycling containers in a spot where they can be better monitored - behind locked gates with regular hours. That location may be near the County Road Department on County Road 304.

"Kingdom Projects had issues with people just tossing trash in," he said.

Johnson said very little notice was given that Kingdom Projects was ending the service.

"We're working very hard to resolve this," he said, adding the city added financial resources in its 2017 budget to purchase a split-hopper trash truck that can pick up both garbage and recycling.

Benton said the new plan for commercial recycling may provide a better path for household recycling.

"We're kind of excited to see what's going to happen, too," he said. "(Commercial service) may change our way of doing curbside, too."