St. Louis City officially ends alley recycling

ST. LOUIS - The City of St. Louis has officially ended alley recycling "due to ineffectiveness" and rising costs, according to city officials.

According to the mayor's office, many St. Louisans have experienced overflowing dumpsters in their alleys, and the City has struggled to run some of its recycling and trash routes as frequently as needed.

Work hours previously dedicated to alley recycling will now be focused on trash collection, according to the city.

“St. Louisans deserve better than having trash overflowing behind their homes, and they deserve a government that is honest about what it can deliver,” said Mayor Cara Spencer via a Friday news release. “By making these changes, we end the costly and ineffective effort that alley recycling had become, despite the good intentions, and we improve our ability to collect trash, which is one of the basic and most crucial services our City is tasked with delivering.”

Drop off sites will still be available for people to take their recyclable items. Right now, there are 25 drop-off recycling locations, all open 24/7. For a full list of those locations, click here.

The city plans add at least 13 more with the goal to have a drop-off site within a mile of every city resident.

The blue recycling dumpsters, inside alleyways, will stay put but will be used for extra trash.
The entire roll out of this new system is expected by August next year.