HOISINGTON —After a work session that included presentations from two sanitation and recycling companies, the Hoisington City Council voted unanimously to enter into negotiations to finalize a contract to privatize its sanitation department to offer more recycling options.
The council approved negotiations with Stutzman from Hutchinson for a ten year agreement. The company provides single stream recycling which will allow residents to recycle paper, cardboard, glass and plastic containers, numbers 1-7 at the curbside.
Two polycarts are provided by the company. One is for regular trash, and the second is for recycling. The recyclables do not have to be separated by type. However, since negotiations haven’t been finalized, there is no official start date.
Stutzman owns the largest single stream recycling plant in central Kansas and processes 2000 tons of refuse through the facility and out of the local landfill.  In addition, they are the only recycling plant in Kansas that processes glass by grinding it down to a sand-like form and hauling it to another facility in McPherson for reuse.
“We expect to divert quite a bit of waste to recycling,” said City Manager Jonathan Mitchell. Non-recyclables will be dumped in Barton County to retain the dumping fees for the local landfill. It will also provide prolong the life of the landfill.
The council toured the Hutchinson recycling facility last Tuesday. “Very little trash leaves the facility,” said Mitchell. “The tour was very impressive.”
The city currently has two employees. While they will not be working in sanitation, they will be offered other jobs with the city if they choose to take them.
Stutzman has expressed an interest in doing a polycart buyback from Hoisington customers.
In other business, the council:
•Approved the plat for McKenna Meadows, the new housing addition in Hoisington. Covenants for the addition were also approved. The land is being given away for free.
•Approved the purchase of a new distribution 37-foot bucket truck at a cost of approximately $85,000. The truck should be available in early May.
•Declined funding from transient guest tax for advertising in Kansas City area.
•Heard the work on the Safe Routes to School project has been delayed at least until the end of the week due to the weather.