The Longview City Council has approved a new 10-year contract with Waste Control for garbage and recycling services, which will take effect on December 1st.

The vote passed 5-2, with just Mayor Erik Halvorson and Councilmember Kalei LaFave voting no.

The new agreement will increase costs for a typical household by about $20 to $23 per month for garbage and recycling combined. The increases will be phased in, with a partial increase in 2027 and the full increase in 2028.

Residents will also have the option of choosing smaller garbage carts, including 60-gallon and 32-gallon options alongside the standard 90-gallon cart. Recycling pickup will change from weekly to every other week.

Under the new contract, Waste Control will take over customer service, billing, and late-fee collection. Existing programs, including abandoned shopping cart collection and Christmas tree pickup, will continue.

Mayor Halvorson said he felt that the fee structure didn’t seem fair for the city, posting, “In Longview, our homes are close together, so a truck can grab dozens of cans on a single street. Out in the rural parts of the county, trucks drive miles between houses, using more fuel and more time for every can. The new contract charges Longview the same rate as the whole county, rural routes included. In essence, Longview residents would be subsidizing garbage collection for the rest of the county.”

Councilmember Mike Claxton said he did agree with Halvorson, but they really did not have much of an option.

There were questions about whether or not the city could change its administration fees. They decided to add a provision to look back at those in the future to see if that is possible.

The contract runs for ten years, with options to extend. The city says residents will receive letters explaining the changes and available service options in the coming weeks.