Woodstock plans to require totes for garbage pickup. Some residents aren’t thrilled.

Woodstock has rolled out plans to require residents to use wheeled totes for garbage service, but the changes have been met with some local resistance.

Some residents are concerned about the costs of a tote compared with garbage stickers. Others are worried about storing the totes or the effect to the environment of requiring each household to switch to them.

The planned changes are in stages: An increase in the price for garbage stickers, from $3.38 to $5 each, takes effect Jan. 1 for those who continue to put out garbage bags without totes. Six months later, stickers are due to be dropped all together, and all residents would be required to use totes.

For now, only one size tote, the 95-gallon variety, is being offered, although city officials said that could change. The lack of a smaller tote option has been among the criticisms of the plan.

When the city announced last month that it would be hosting public meetings to go over changes, City Council member Melissa McMahon urged residents to reach out if they had issues with the proposal. McMahon has her own concerns about the changes, saying the city needs to come up with tiered solutions.

“One tote does not fit all,” McMahon said.

Beth Zange lives in Woodstock and uses the stickers.

“We don’t create that much rubbish,” Zange said, adding that she generates about 2½ bags of garbage a month at most, and estimated that she uses a maximum of 30 stickers per year.

Storage also is a concern for Zange. She doesn’t think she’d be able to fit both her SUV and her tote in her garage. Cost is a factor, too; Zange said the price increase for the stickers “kind of stinks.”

Jean Hervert Niemann said she understands that the garbage collectors want to have automated collection. But she said she only makes about 2 gallons, or one small grocery bag, of trash per week.

She’s concerned that the 95-gallon totes might make people less conscious of what they’re buying and throwing out.

“It doesn’t encourage people to be careful,” Hervert Niemann said.

She said she recycles everything she possibly can, but she doesn’t need the proposed 95-gallon recycling tote. She also composts her fruit and vegetable peelings, and said she would have to reconfigure her space to accommodate a garbage tote.

Hervert Niemann also is concerned about other environmental effects that the totes might have, including all the plastic that goes into producing several thousand totes.

Mobility is a concern among residents as well. Sue Buehn, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a walker to get around, said she was angered by the changes. Buehn said she can’t wheel a large tote out to the street. She also said she doesn’t produce a lot of garbage. She isn’t housebound, but she said she doesn’t want to risk a fall while trying to maneuver a tote.

She said she isn’t worried about storing the totes but doesn’t want one that’s 95 gallons.

City Manager Roscoe Stelford said the one size originally was proposed but “there might be some changes.” He said the city will sit down with the garbage contractor in the coming days and continue to engage with the community about the plans.

According to the city’s website, the changes are “being driven by industry conversion to automated pickup processes.”

Lori Miarecki, one of the owners of the Cherry Tree Inn, said she’s been using the wheeled garbage and recycling containers since she moved to town. She said she has one trash and three recycling bins, which she said “are incredibly useful for us,” adding that she can see the larger bins being an issue for homes with elderly residents who don’t produce as much garbage.

Woodstock has contracted with MDC Environmental Services for trash and recycling pickup since 1994, according to city documents. The current contract is set to expire Dec. 31, according to city records, but it offers an extension, which has not yet formally been approved.

City officials estimated that the cost for residents would be about $23 for totes, but seniors would get a discounted rate of $15.50. Those prices are very similar to nearby Huntley, which also contracts with MDC. Huntley’s large Sun City area has a different waste provider, but the village website says the cost for other residents is about $23 per month for garbage service and $17.68 per month for seniors. Village officials said Huntley has contracted with MDC since 2008.

Crystal Lake uses Lakeshore Recycling Systems, according to the city website. The base rate for service is $19.77 per month for a single family and $17.82 for seniors. According to the disposal company’s website, residents in Crystal Lake can choose from three different garbage tote sizes.

In 2021, McHenry was looking at a full switchover to totes. Some on the City Council wanted to look at other garbage providers, and Alderman Andy Glab said at the time that he had reservations about the proposal.

Currently, residents in McHenry are able to choose from three different sizes of garbage totes, with larger totes costing more money. But they also still have an option to use stickers, which cost $3.20 each, according to the city’s website.

Zange’s parents live in McHenry. She said her parents were going from the 95-gallon tote to the 65-gallon tote, and they were excited about the senior discount.

Attempts to reach MDC Environmental Services were unsuccessful.