City providing survey on garbage and recycling services

(Photo via opdenaker.com).

The City of Cortland is providing a survey to gather thoughts on the city’s current garbage and recycling pickup service and what can be done to possibly improve it in the future.

The location of the link to the survey is here. Click on “City of Cortland Residential Trash Survey 2022” to take the survey. The survey is only for city residents.

The city will be gathering responses for the survey through June 20.

“It gives us an opportunity to hear what (residents) like and don’t like (about the trash service),” City Mayor Scott Steve said. “(The survey) could also maybe give us other ideas or suggestions that residents have.”

Cortland’s Trash and Recycling Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, and the Common Council, are currently weighing options on garbage and recycling pickup in the future. The city’s current service is with Bert Adams Disposal. The company has a blue bag system and a glass-only week.

Steve noted the city’s trash and recycling committee will discuss the results of the survey at its next meeting. The survey results will also be a topic of conversation at a Common Council meeting in July.

The survey, Steve said, would give the city all of the information “to narrow down” the city’s options moving forward.

“(It puts the) rest of the perspectives together on which avenue would be best to go towards,” he added.

Steve noted he is hoping to have a plan together for the future of garbage and recycling pickup in the city by the end of July. This would allow the Common Council an opportunity to potentially see if “any other work has to be done,” he added.

Once a plan receives the green light from Common Council, a request-for-proposal will be sent out to garbage and recycling companies. Since the city is still under contract with Bert Adams until the end of this year, a contract with a potentially new company wouldn’t start until the beginning of next year.

Steve said the goal is to make garbage and recycling pickup easier and less expensive for city residents.

“It touches everybody’s lives. Everybody generates trash,” he said.