Trash bill to list recycling service

Some 36,000 Waste Management customers in urban and suburban portions of Spokane County shouldn’t be alarmed when they get their next garbage-collection bill and find a new item for recycling service, county and company officials said this week.

Neither garbage nor recycling fees have changed; just the way they are presented.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission required the $3.35 charge for curbside recycling to be separated from garbage-collection charges on bills, according to Waste Management District Manager Steve Wulf. Previously, garbage and recycling charges were combined for the sake of simplicity.

Bills already showed the “rebate” customers receive from the sale of recycled materials, currently 46 cents a month. The effect for Waste Management’s Spokane County customers is to bring the net cost of curbside recycling down to $2.89 a month.

The only thing that has changed about Waste Management’s recycling service is that cell phones, cell phone batteries and chargers are now accepted if they’re sealed in a plastic bag.

For more information, call Waste Management at 924-9400.