Trash service in Winfield should remain mostly the same in the near future but city officials expect changes will come eventually, especially in the area of recycling, city manager Warren Porter says.
Local officials received verbal notification from the state that the city had successfully appealed a written notice calling for a more uniform collection service. State officials made the recommendations after a worker-safety inspection here in February.
The state suggested moving to a system that relies more heavily on automation to empty trash bins. Such systems are safer for workers but much more costly to operate.
Because of the cost, city officials say they’d probably contract with a private company if the process needed to be more automated. And that’s not totally out of the question now, even though it appears the state has backed off of its demands.
Porter says the city has an attractive offer on the table for a private contractor to begin providing local service. Smaller towns in Cowley County already use private contractors, he said.
It’s also become more apparent that the city could switch how it handles its recycling program and have the work done more quickly and cheaply than it is done now.
Still, the city will look at the issue thoroughly before making any final decision. Trash collection employs a number of people and the department turns a consistent profit year after year, Porter says.
The city has roughly 4,200 trash customers.
