Sunriver residents may soon be able to have their recyclable items picked up directly from their homes under a proposal that will go before the Deschutes County Commission.

Commissioners are expected to deliberate the proposed plan on Feb. 28, according to an agenda request from the Deschutes County Solid Waste Department.

Cascade Disposal, which serves Sunriver, currently only offers customers weekly garbage pickup. The new service would add weekly pickup of glass and commingled recyclables for $14 per month.

Because curbside garbage service is restricted in Sunriver, Cascade Disposal truck drivers have to get out of their vehicles to fetch garbage cans from a home. They would have to do the same thing for bins of recyclable items. Residents will need to provide their own container for commingled recyclables.

The current practice in Sunriver, for those who want to recycle, is for residents to haul their glass, plastic, paper and cardboard items to a central location in the resort community. The location, known as the recycle depot, has been long criticized by Sunriver residents as being too crowded and not well-maintained.

“Sunriver’s recycling depot is uncontrolled and a nuisance in the middle of a residential area,” said Sunriver resident Ed Pitera. “There are no limitations on access, no oversight of what is deposited or how much at the Sunriver depot.”

Last year, Sunriver residents defeated a proposal to use Sunriver Owner’s Association funds to build a new recycling depot. Many residents were instead pushing for home pickup service.

“Home pickup does away with all the problems associated with the existing popular but overwhelmed, unmanned, unsecured drop-off depot,” said Pitera. “We would like to be able to recycle in the same ways residents of Bend can. This would allow us to improve the quality of the recycle stream and help eliminate a local mess.”

In addition to commingled side-yard pickup in Sunriver, Cascade Disposal will also offer weekly garbage pickup and biweekly commingled and glass collection service in their service areas surrounding south Bend.

Yard debris pickup will also be available to households outside Sunriver as a biweekly service as a way to reduce fuel loads and mitigate wildfire risk. Under the proposal, Cascade Disposal would furnish containers for commingle, glass, and yard debris collection.

Chad Centola, director of Deschutes County Department of Solid Waste, said the expansion of residential recycling services will help get a higher percentage of waste into the recycling stream, lowering the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills.

“In addition to helping meet this objective, the expansion of residential recycling collection provides convenience,” said Centola. “For Sunriver residents, it helps reduce the capacity and cleanliness challenges at the Sunriver Recycling Depot as well.”

Approval of the plans by Deschutes County commissioners would allow Cascade Disposal to start procuring equipment and hiring for the new collection jobs. Centola said he hopes commingle service could start in six to eight months after approval.

“The current challenge is acquiring the needed trucks and possibly hiring of the additional staff needed,” he said.

Centola adds that the future of the recycling depot is not clear, even if home pickup options are approved. But he said Sunriver’s plans to expand its public works yard could eventually close the depot.

“They will have to decide at some point to relocate it or close it down,” said Centola. “How the community responds to the added residential service and its impact on the depot may help them with that decision.”