Public Works: Garbage and Recycling

 Compost Site

The City provides a compost facility where residents can bring their yard waste. The compost site is located at 901 W. Locust Street (near the River Falls School Bus Garage).  For your convenience, we have greatly expanded the site's hours.  The site will now be open April through November, 7 days a week, during daylight hours, as long as the public practices good housekeeping and does not bring unwanted or banned materials to the site.

Please assist by self-monitoring the site, as hours will be severely curtailed if forced to have an attendant on duty to monitor site usage.  Allowable material that can be disposed at the site is limited to yard waste and brush.  Use of this site is for City residents only.

 Frequently Asked Questions:

Who do I call if my garbage has been missed?

Call 866-983-6542 if your garbage pick-up has been missed.

What time do I need to put my garbage out?

Garbage and recycling must be placed at the curbside (or alleyside) by 6:00 a.m. on the designated collection day. Garbage pick up times can vary week to week. Just because your garbage is "normally" picked up at 10:00 a.m. does not mean that you can wait till 9:00 a.m. to put your garbage out. If the Hauler abides by the 6am to 6pm pick up window, they are not obligated to pick-up garbage and recycling that was not curbside (or alleyside) when they arrive for collection.

What day is my garbage picked up?

Pick up day is based on your location within the City, please reference this map to determine which day your garbage is picked up.

Why can't I chose my own garbage hauler?

There are a number of reasons why the City of River Falls has chosen to contract for residential garbage collection though one hauler including:

• It is a sustainable practice reducing fuel consumption, pollution, and unnecessary damage to roads.
• It makes our neighborhoods cleaner, safer and quiter with less unnecessary truck traffic.
• Garbage trucks are the single biggest contributor to deterioration of our local neighborhood streets. Having one company's garbage truck travel down each city street rather than have four or more different garbage companies trucks drive down every street saves taxpayer money spent on road repair and maintenance.
• We know who to contact if there is a litter problem associated with garbage pickup.
  
• The monthly rate contracted for by the City is lower than would be obtained by individuals contracting for service. Talk to you friends in the surrounding townships and ask them what their monthly rate is. It only makes sense. It is most efficient for one hauler to pick up from each and every home in neighborhood rather than having to skip one that would be pickup up by another hauler.

Why did the City select Advanced Disposal for this service?

The City received bids from 2 different contractors in 2010 before negotiating a final contract with Veolia (now Advanced Disposal) for 2011-2015. Veolia (now Advanced Disposal) not only offered a significantly lower price, they also had very good reviews from current users.

Have my garbage rates increased?

In 2000, refuse and recycling rates for resident were $10.80/mo. In 2007, Waste Management began billing on a quarterly basis at $9.40/mo. This represents a 13% reduction in solid waste fees compared to 7 years ago. That rate was adjusted in 2008, but still remains 10% lower than the rate in 2000.  In 2010, residents were charged $10.19/mo.

Why am I limited to a 35-gallon container for garbage?

The City promotes recycling and the idea of limiting the amount of solid waste that it contributes to area landfills. The Hauler will collect an unlimited amount of residential recycling. A household that is actively recycling in accordance with City ordinances should find a 35-gallon container to be adequate for most weeks in the year. On rare occasions where a resident has more than 35-gallons of solids waste to dispose of, they can purchase a tag for $2.05 and an additional container of up to 35-gallons will be collected. If a resident consistently produces more than 35-gallons of solid waste per week, they can arrange for larger container through Advanced Disposal for an additional fee.

Some weeks I don't even put out garbage, can I get a refund?

No, the garbage hauler still needs to make their rounds past your house. Tracking weekly collections from each and every address would likely add more administrative cost than it would save in pickup costs.

I don't recycle, I should get a break?

Everyone should recycle. It's the law and there is no itemized charge for recycling. If you don't recycle, you should pay more. Advanced Disposal is able to sell recyclable materials whereas they need to pay to dump garbage in a landfill. Paying to dispose of materials that could be recycled and sold makes no sense. Furthermore, if you don't recycle, you will likely find your 35-gallon container inadequate and have to pay additional for garbage tags or a larger container.

How do I suspend my garbage service?

City residents are only allowed to discontinue their garbage service if the water service to their home has been disconnected.  Contact River Falls Municipal Utilities at 425-0906 to disconnect your water service before contacting Advanced Disposal at 866-983-6542 to suspend garbage service.  There is no cost to disconnect your water meter, but a $40 fee to re-connect it.  The monthly customer fees for water and sewer service add up to $21.75.  So if you will be away from home for more than a month, it may save you money to disconnect your water and garbage service.  In addition, you have the peace of mind knowing you will not come home to any unexpected flooding in your home.

What were the results to the Refuse and Recycling Survey done in 2010?

The City conducted this survey to help in soliciting bids for refuse and recycling service for 2011-2015.  We used the results of this survey to guide the decisions we made regarding the contract.  Full results can be found by clicking here.

In general, people are happy with the current refuse and recycling services. 1.6% are unsatisfied, 19.7% are somewhat satisfied, 78.8% are satisfied, very satisfied or completely satisfied.
73% of respondents felt the current 35-gallon cart was sufficient for an average household

Billing:  Residents preferred to be billed quarterly by the Hauler (42.6%) or monthly with their utility bill (41%) as opposed to annually on the tax bill (8.2%).  However 81.6% preferred the lowest cost method.

Single Hauler for CityResidents generally agree (80-95%) with utilizing one Hauler for reasons such as minimizing deterioration of local streets, reduces fuel consumption and pollution, quieter neighborhoods with less unnecessary truck traffic, and lower monthly rates for residents.

Recycling
98% of respondents currently recycle. When asked where they recycle we received the following:
   o 93.2% curbside
   o 37.3% EconoFoods recycling containers
   o 11.9% Public Works Garage recycling containers
   o 15.3% Drop off at Pierce County Recycling Center in Ellsworth
   o 10.2% Drop off at private party (e.g. church, scouts, hockey, etc)
54% of respondents said a larger recycling container would better meet their needs
65% said a covered container would be better than the current uncovered bin
21% said a larger, covered bin would cause them to recycle more material
62% said single stream would cause them to recycle more material
69.5% said the ability to put #3-7 plastics in their recycling container would make recycling easier and cause them to recycle more material
There were many written comments about larger, covered bins as well as offering single stream or offering a larger range of recyclable materials to be collected

Spring Clean Up
50.9% of respondents utilize spring clean up almost every year
87% find the location and hours convenient
41.8% of respondents feel that those who utilize it should pay for it
There were a few comments that more publicity is needed about clean up weeks

Compost Site/Yard Waste
51.8% of respondents utilize it more than 5 times a year
19.6% of respondents have never used the compost site
92.6% find the location and hours convenient. There were many comments about liking the new extended hours and availability