A former Portage mayor worries that ending curbside recycling pickup could pose challenges for those who may be unable to take items to recycling centers themselves. Portage ended curbside pickup in February because those items weren't actually being recycled, due to the amount of trash placed in the toters. Hobart followed suit this week.
But Olga Velazquez said she's heard from older residents who say it places an extra burden on them, if they want to be environmentally responsible. "Now, I'm expected to use my own resources, if I have them, if I have a vehicle, if I'm able, if I drive, to take it to one of your locations," Velazquez told the Portage City Council earlier this month.
Portage residents can take recyclables to the street department or the U.S. 12 compost site, while Hobart residents can use the city yard.
Velazquez asked council members to consider the impact on older residents going forward. "You've decreased services for me but haven't decreased my cost, and not just me, but many seniors," she added.
Mayor Austin Bonta acknowledged the loss of convenience but framed the change as a start of recycling, rather than an end. He noted that, since 2021, many residents who believed they were recycling were actually having their items taken to landfills.
"But as far as how to we make it more accessible than having people drive to the site at the street department, that's something being worked on by our beautification and sustainability committee," Bonta said. "They're continuing to put ideas together."
The changes are part of a larger overhaul of Portage's trash policies. Streets and Sanitation Superintendent Randy Reeder said the city's seen significant cost savings by no longer letting residents dump trash and bulk items at the Street Department.
"We went through 40 dumpsters a month — 40 dumpsters a month," Reeder told council members. "We're down to two."
He said Portage went from spending $4,300 in February 2023 down to $434 last month.
