PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – The pandemic has had a negative impact on many industries. But when it comes to recycling and trash services for the city of Phoenix, they’re doing better than ever.
The amount of waste and recycling generated has increased during the pandemic as residents often spend more time at home. For Phoenix resident Chris Callahan, getting out of the house isn’t a problem. But it changed his habits when he’s inside.
“I definitely got a lot more recycling because we did a lot more shopping on Amazon,” Callahan said. “We are getting a lot more packages delivered.”
Over the past two years, increased waste and recycling has contributed to staffing shortages for many public works departments in the valley. But the city of Phoenix is not one of them.
“As people leave, we bring people in all the time,” said Felipe Moreno, Phoenix’s assistant director of public works. “So we always have people in training and we’re providing full coverage.”
This has allowed the city to focus on ways to increase revenue, from raising residential fees by seven dollars over the past two years to raising rates at public disposal sites.
“It’s helped us keep up with the continued growth as well as the demands and costs associated with our business,” Moreno said.
The final result ? After $160 million in monthly residential revenue last year, Phoenix is on track to grow by $8 million in 2022. Add to that an additional $1 million projected in disposal revenue and an additional $2 million in revenue. of recycling. Moreno is already suggesting ways to best use the extra money in the future.
“It has allowed us to be in the position where we need to be healthy with our fleet replacements, to make sure we meet our debt service, we keep a healthy minimum operating reserve,” a- he declared.
What if there’s money left after that? Well, Callahan already has an idea how to use it.
“There’s a lot of trash that’s not put in containers,” he said. “If they have additional income, I would like to see them engage in efforts to clean up more trash and clean up the city.”
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