Voters in Anoka, Mounds View weigh city-organized trash collection

The city of Anoka declined to comment for this story.

Garbage Haulers for Citizen Choice, a political committee backed by many area haulers that opposes the cities’ efforts to organize collection, spent more than $18,000 in Anoka on four mailings and signs opposing organized collection between late September and late October. Neighbors for Organized Hauling, a group advocating for a yes vote, reported spending $573 on postage in October.

In Mounds View, the city website says that under a city-negotiated contract with Lakeshore Recycling Systems, weekly pick-up for a 95-gallon trash bin would cost $81.17 quarterly, or about $27 per month.

“If we, as a community, value price transparency, certainly the organized collection contract offers that,” Mounds View Mayor Zach Lindstrom said.

John Kysylyczyn, the executive director of Garbage Haulers for Citizen Choice, disputed the city’s claims that organized collection would lead to less wear on roads — and raised questions about resident choice.

“What you’re actually voting on is, do you want to give government, permanently, the authority to take over management of the solid waste system?” he said, arguing the government will decide which hauler, services and price residents will pay.