City of Rexburg to scale back curbside recycling program

Starting March 1, the city of Rexburg will be scaling back its curbside recycling program.

The city currently partners with Brigham Young University-Idaho to collect recycling, but financial constraints have forced the school to make some adjustments to the program.

BYU-Idaho will outsource its curbside recycling pickup to Western Recycling. Instead of picking up recycling once a week, Western Recycling will only pick it up twice a month.

“The BYU-Idaho facility has seen that it’s not cost-effective for them to continue without expanding their facility,” said Dee Dee Tucker with the city’s Public Works Department.

Materials including plastic film and glass will no longer be accepted in the curbside program, but residents will still be able to drop them off in the recycling containers at Alberton’s.

“The problem with glass is once you get broken glass anywhere, it’s always there, it’s always a nuisance,” said Wade Billman, a BYU-Idaho student who collects recycling for the city.

The city said it will send notices to residents before the changes take effect.