Golden Valley Stops Short of Trash Collection Overhaul
Changes are on the way for how Golden Valley collects trash, but they won’t involve the major overhaul that some residents had hoped for.
One of the city council’s goals last year was to review its residential waste collection system. A citywide survey went out, and about 51 percent of residents who responded said they wanted Golden Valley to switch to an organized system, where the city would either contract with a group of haulers, or one hauler directly.
But the city decided not to go this route.
“We view it as a spectrum,” said Marc Nevinski, Golden Valley’s physical development director. “On one side of the spectrum is a very open system, similar to what we have now. And on the other side of the spectrum is an organized system, and we’re landing somewhere in the middle where, through our ordinances, we’ll be enhancing our standards and enhancing requirements.”
Golden Valley currently operates under an open system of trash collection, in which residents choose from a list of eight companies.
The city decided not to continue with the current system.
Instead, the city plans to look at options to “enhance licensing standards,” which would limit the number of available trash hauling companies, set specifications for truck sizes and restrict trash collection to certain days and times.
“Right now and in general, the system is going to stay the same and there may be some changes to the haulers that operate in Golden Valley,” Nevinski said. “We don’t know yet what that looks like or what those numbers will be. That will take some time to sort out. But generally not a substantial change to the options that people have currently available.”
Licensing negotiations between Golden Valley and garbage haulers will take place in April of 2020.
