Changes to St. Louis City Trash

Maintaining safe, clean neighborhoods is City government’s number one priority. That is reflected in the City budget. Most of your tax dollars go for public safety and neighborhood services. Unfortunately, the terrible economy and rising public employee pension costs left the City with a $46 million budget shortfall.

We have eliminated hundreds of jobs. We are trying to eliminate all unnecessary costs, even small ones. We are taking away take home cars unless they are absolutely essential. Same with cell phones. Taxpayer money is not used for travel or food for events.

We are already forced to reduce the number of firefighters. We did not want to lay off police officers for obvious reasons. Last winter, we tried cutting back on trash services. The experiment failed miserably. Not only did our citizens hate it, but our streets and alleys started looking bad.

So, instead, City leaders chose to institute a modest charge for solid waste services and preserve the comprehensiveness and quality of these services.

Starting this July, trash pickup in the City of St. Louis costs $11/month per dwelling unit. It is still a bargain. Most County residents pay more and get less than what the City services provide, which includes: • Twice weekly collection of solid waste • Monthly pickup of bulky items, including tires, batteries, appliances, etc. • Drop off of one load per month of additional refuse/bulk/yard waste at the transfer station • Weekly collection of yard waste during the growing season • In neighborhoods that want it, residents will receive one pickup of single stream recyclable solid waste and one pickup of “regular” solid waste per week

Solid waste fees and your water fees will be included on the same bill. The bill will clearly show the fee for water and the fee for trash. You will see the fee on your next water bill. Because the fee went into effect in early July, if you are scheduled to get your water bill in September, it will cover two months of solid waste fees. If you get your bill in October, it will cover three months of solid waste fees. If you get your bill in November, it will cover four months of solid waste fees. After that, the fee will appear on your quarterly bill.

The solid waste fee of $11 per unit per month will be charged for all residential dwelling units that use City solid waste services. The City is assuming that if a building with residential dwelling units has active water service the dwelling unit is using City trash. If that is not the case, call the Citizens Service Bureau at 622-4800. If you do not understand your bill, or believe there is an error, please call the CSB.

The City will continue to operate drop-off recycling. You can find your most convenient drop-off site by calling 622-4800 or visiting http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/locations.htm

The City is also working to curb illegal dumping. If you witness illegal dumping in progress, please gather as much information as you can about the person/vehicle – including the license plate information – and call (314) 231-1212. You may be eligible for a reward if the information you provide leads to an illegal dumper’s arrest and conviction for illegal dumping. If you suspect items on a property or in an alley were illegally dumped, please call CSB at (314) 622-4800.