Sycamore residents to see annual increase in waste, refuse service starting Jan. 1 through 2028

SYCAMORE – Sycamore residents will see an annual increase for their monthly refuse service and waste collection starting Jan. 1 through 2028 due to an updated contract recently approved by the Sycamore City Council.

At its recent meeting, the Sycamore City Council authorized a five-year extension to the refuse contract between the city and Waste Management for a sixth consecutive time.

Sycamore has utilized Waste Management for waste collection and disposal services since December 2001 and has re-upped the agreement regularly in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2016 and 2021, documents show.

According to city documents, beginning January 2024 Sycamore residents utilizing the refuse service will be charged $26.49 per month. In January 2025 the cost of the refuse service will increase by 4.5%, and then annually through Dec. 31, 2028.

City Manager Michael Hall said city officials preferred Waste Management for the waste disposal services because the company does more than basic trash removal.

“This is an all inclusive deal,” Hall said. “As we looked at other communities we saw that it’s kind of an a la carte, where they’ll pull out leaf collection, or they’ll pull out other types of things, but what’s good about Waste Management is they’ve put it all together in an all inclusive package.”

Every participating Sycamore residence will continue to be given one 96-gallon refuse cart and one 64-gallon recycling cart, according to the contract.

Both bins are considered the contractor’s property, however, damage attributed to negligence will be considered the responsibility of the resident – that will be serviced by Waste Management once a week.

Residents are able to request a smaller 64-gallon)refuse cart or a larger 96-gallon recycle cart for a one time, $30 exchange fee. Older adults that would prefer a smaller refuse bin are asked to contact city hall.

Sycamore Public Works Director Matt Anderson said there will be no changes to the time and days trash, recycling and leaves will be picked up from residents’ curbs.