Hermiston City Council revisits curbside recycling
By Terry Murry on Sunday, November 23rd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON — (News release from the city of Hermiston) The Hermiston City Council will again take up the question of how to implement curbside recycling at its Monday meeting, including consideration of a new low-income rate option and answers to several key questions raised during the November 10 meeting.
Under Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021, curbside recycling will be required for cities larger than 4,000 population beginning in 2026. Manufacturers will help fund a portion of the statewide program, but some operational costs remain local responsibilities, including staffing for collection trucks, fuel, maintenance, storage, insurance, and billing administration. A local rate is therefore required for Hermiston to implement curbside service.
City staff is recommending a standard monthly rate of $8 for curbside recycling service. In response to Council direction, a new low-income rate of $6.80 per month is now included. The qualifications for the reduced rate match the City’s existing utility assistance program. When combined with other City utility subsidies already available to qualifying households, total assistance per household would be about $518 per year.
At the November 10 meeting, Council also requested information on whether the City could simply decline to implement curbside recycling and instead pay state fines. After consultation with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, staff determined that the minimum penalty for non-compliance would be at least $183,000 per year, and up to $9.125 million per year if the state determines the city is not attempting to follow the law.
If the new rates are approved by the council, customers will not be billed for curbside recycling until service officially begins. Launch timing will depend on the arrival of new trucks and carts and the availability of drivers. Current estimates place implementation sometime in 2026. More information will be made available as the details of the local service startup are determined.
The curbside system will use a single co-mingled cart for plastics, metals, cardboard, and paper. A multilingual recycling guide is available at recycleon.org/oregon/what-can-i-recycle/ for residents preparing for the program’s rollout.
File photo for Sanitary Disposal, Inc. from city of Hermiston
