Woodstock will offer smaller garbage totes – but without smaller cost

In response to feedback from the community, Woodstock will give residents the option of a smaller garbage tote as the city prepares to change its pickup services.

But the smaller totes will not cost any less, and the bag-and-sticker option will go away, which are among the issues that have raised a stink among some residents.

Woodstock announced this week that residents can opt for a smaller, 35-gallon waste tote when the city switches to mandatory totes next year.

Tote sizes have been among the concerns residents have had about the garbage changes; another concern has been how those with mobility issues can get their garbage out to the curb.

Recycling totes will be included as part of the new garbage service, and there still is going to be unlimited recycling. People who fill up their 65-gallon recycling tote can rent another tote for $5 per month or put out other recycling containers after, city officials said.

Still, City Council member Melissa McMahon, who attended a Tuesday public meeting about the coming changes, said the overall higher costs for garbage pickup for some residents could mean people have less disposable income to spend elsewhere, suggesting the city could lose out on potential sales tax as a result.

“You’re not ... going out to dinner in Woodstock. You’re not shopping in Woodstock,” McMahon said.

Resident Jean Hervert Niemann, who said she produces about one grocery bag of garbage weekly, had asked the city last week to offer the 35-gallon garbage and recycling totes. She also brought a 35-gallon recycling tote to the meeting.

“Being told that large 65- or 95-gallon toters are mandatory and required, it feels like a life sentence to [have] something I don’t want or need but I’m required to store and pay for,” Niemann said at the City Council meeting. “One size does not fit all.”

Niemann said Wednesday that she was disappointed the city didn’t offer a smaller recycling tote, but she’s pleased the city is moving forward with a 35-gallon garbage tote option.

She said that she didn’t understand how the city could offer the 35-gallon tote for garbage but not recycling.

“It’s not logical,” Niemann said.

Debi Baker shared the same sentiment. Storing the totes has been a worry for some of the residents. City code requires the garbage totes be stored behind the setback line of the house.

Baker lives near downtown Woodstock, and although she said she has a flat driveway, she’ll have to rearrange her garage to fit the totes.

“I don’t even pull my car in,” Baker said.

Christine Fischer has a two-car garage but doesn’t know where she’d store her totes.

Costs have been a worry for residents as well, and a few attendees at this week’s meetings said they were on fixed incomes. Fischer said she only puts a small can of garbage out every four to six weeks. She said she currently spends less than $5 per month.

“Give us the ability to opt out,” Fischer said.

Residents on the sticker program will pay significantly more for stickers in the new year, with the price climbing from $3.38 per sticker to $5. Starting July 1, the sticker program will be no more. However, people still can use stickers for yard waste for a cost of $3.38 per bag or a yearly subscription for $225.

According to Woodstock documents, most McHenry County communities already have moved away from bag-and-sticker programs. Most people in Woodstock are not using the stickers, officials said.

About 5,200 customers out of an expected 8,000 already are using totes, City Manager Roscoe Stelford said at Wednesday’s meeting.

Stelford noted Tuesday that “5,200 people are going to see a reduction, and some a significant reduction. ... There’s no doubt [that a] majority of this community is going to see a discount by moving forward with this contract.”

Hauling the bins out to the curb has been a concern among some residents in the community as well. Stelford said those who have mobility issues in getting the trash out to the curb should call the city, and the city will try to work something out with the resident and garbage hauler.

Despite some residents voicing concerns about the proposed changes, city officials said they’ve negotiated as much as they can.

“To some degree, we’ve gone as far as we can go at this point,” Paul Christensen, Woodstock’s deputy city manager and executive director of strategy and planning, said at the meeting Tuesday.

A similar situation played out in McHenry. McHenry was looking at potentially dropping its sticker program when its garbage contract was up for renewal a few years ago. At the time, some city officials had concerns about the proposal. Ultimately, McHenry uses a different waste hauler and kept the sticker option.

Proposed prices in Woodstock in 2025 are $23.50 per month for a 95-gallon tote and $15.50 for seniors, defined as those 65 and older. It will be billed as part of residents’ water and sewer bills, according to city records.

Those who currently use the totes will see a discount on their garbage bill. They currently pay about $27.65 per month for garbage and will pay $23.50 under the new system.

But for those who use stickers, they’ll likely pay more for garbage under the new system.

Currently, tote service is billed through water and sewer bills, which will remain the case going forward. But an increase in water billing this spring factored into residents’ concerns.

“Our water bill just went up as well,” Baker said.

Baker said she puts out about two bags of garbage per month.

Woodstock officials are expecting that the new garbage contract, which would be an extension of the current contract with MDC Environmental Services, would come up for a City Council vote Oct. 15. MDC has been Woodstock’s garbage hauler since 1994, according to city records.

The city website indicates that the city did not seek to rebid the garbage contract, which McMahon said she would have liked to see.

“We can’t mandate something without options,” McMahon said.

City officials confirmed Tuesday that the contract is for 10 years.

“That’s a little concerning,” Baker said.