Farmington council adopts residential green-waste can program with opt-out default

Farmington City Council unanimously adopted a residential green-waste can program that will enroll households by default with a limited opt-out period and a phased, zone-by-zone rollout.

Councilmember Kristen Sherlock moved to adopt the policies and procedures, and Melissa Lane seconded the motion; the vote carried unanimously. The council approved a program staff said was modeled on the city’s earlier recycling rollout and on practices used by neighboring jurisdictions.

The program will be rolled out in five zones. Staff described the first three zones—largely on the west side of town—as the initial rollout, followed by remaining zones once participation and returns are assessed. Staff said the city will order 5,000 green cans for the rollout and noted they expected roughly a 50% opt-out rate, which would make returned cans available for later phases. “We only buy 5,000 cans,” staff said during the presentation, “and then have 2,000 cans sitting … so we can now roll it out to the remaining households.”

Colette, a Wasatch Integrated representative who presented implementation details, described the citizen communications package: zone-specific letters stuffed into handle-attached packets, static-cling stickers already applied to carts, and FAQs that list the opt-out deadlines (the first zone’s opt-out deadline described to staff as April 30, with later zones set for May 31 and June 30). Colette also offered facility tours for council members and said the provider had secured an EPA grant to expand facility capacity and education work. “We just recently received a EPA grant to expand our facility and service and education as well,” she told the council.

Staff and council discussed logistics: delivery to individual homes with instructions explaining how residents may opt out (by phone or email), the procedure for returning unwanted cans, and how homeowners associations will be handled. Officials cautioned some residents that if they miss the initial opt-out window they may still be charged for the service until the next administrative step; staff said the city’s FAQ and mailed packet will explain return procedures and contact information.

Councilmembers also discussed seasonal use: the green can will be used for compostable material roughly eight months of the year and will serve as a second black garbage can for the other four months. Staff highlighted estimated household savings if residents return duplicate black cans and keep the green can; staff noted an approximate savings of about $9 per month for households that return a second black can and retain the green-waste cart.

The council’s action authorizes staff to implement the policies and begin the phased rollout and outreach described in the staff packet. Staff said they will proceed with mailings, cart delivery and program enrollment timelines and return to council with needed operational updates.