Pendleton approves garbage pickup rate increase and recycling fees
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, April 8th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton City Council voted 6-2 to approve a scheduled three percent rate increase for Pendleton Sanitary Service, Inc. (PSSI) at its meeting last night. Included in the motion was also approving fees for the state-mandated curbside comingled recycling program. Councilmembers Ellie McBride and Brett Mulvihill were the two “no” votes.
The rate increase had been scheduled for 2025, but PSSI did not take it, delaying until April 1 of this year. The curbside recycling program, meanwhile, is mandated by the state of Oregon for all cities with populations of 4,000 or higher. That legislation is titled the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. Comingled recycling will begin in Pendleton on July 1.
The rate for curbside recycling will be $8 a month for each 32- or 96-gallon cart a customer has. They will receive a 96-gallon comingled cart for each container. Garbage pickups will continue to be weekly. Recycling pickups will be every other week. Multi-family locations will pay $24 a month for a 300-gallon tote. All customers will have to pay for the service, but they don’t have to use it. All of the current recycling stations will continue to accept materials.
The material in the recycle bins will be shipped to Portland to be separated, according to PSSI. Pendleton Public Works Director Jeff Brown said that people who don’t put the right materials in the bin will be notified.
“They will have AI (artificial intelligence) in the trucks, figuring it out,” Brown told the council.
Graphic from the city of Pendleton
