St. Paul working toward 18-month extension for garbage service

The city of St. Paul is working toward an 18-month extension for the citywide garbage service, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

St. Paul Public Works announced Thursday that the extension with St. Paul Haulers would keep current services, collection days and designated haulers in place but doesn’t include cart-sharing or opt-out options.

Additionally, the extension would result in a 22-cent per month increase for customers with small carts and weekly service and larger, unspecified increases for those with medium and large carts. Those with small carts and every-other-week service wouldn’t see any increase.

The city says the increase for larger carts is primarily due to an increase in tipping fees at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center.

“Our mission is to provide the highest quality solid waste services and prices for Saint Paul residents,” Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a prepared statement. “We are disappointed that we were not able to get cart sharing as a part of this extension. But there’s still work to be done. This extension ensures we avoid service disruptions as we continue to identify and implement service improvements.”

St. Paul Public Works says the extension will allow the city time to fully implement changes to the program by April 1, 2025, including having:

• Cart sharing and opt-out provisions available to residents
• Streamlined billing using the city’s existing assessment process
• One-stop customer service provided by city staff who are union-represented
• Delivery and repair of carts performed by city staff who are union-represented
• Integration of hauler route information with the city’s customer service operations
• Up to 20% of collections provided by city staff