CEDAR RAPIDS — In a move to cut costs, the City Council’s Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday recommended that the full council consider modifying the city’s curbside recycling program so pickups are made every other week, not weekly.

The decision follows the results of a pilot study conducted by the city from July 29 to Sept. 23 at 710 homes in northwest Cedar Rapids, primarily in the Stoney Point neighborhood.

Steve Hershner, the city’s utilities director, told the committee that 59.7 percent of the residents who completed a survey in the pilot study area reported that they would support every-other-week pickup of recyclables if he helped to keep the city’s rates down.

Fifty percent in the survey said every-other-week pickups met their recycling needs, while 27 percent said that they had difficulty with the less-frequent pickups.

Hershner said the city saw a slight increase in the amount of garbage collected in the area of the pilot study, an indication that some people put more recyclables in the garbage as a result of the less-frequent pickup of recyclables, he said.

Hershner said the city could consider offering a 95-gallon CURBY recycling carts for heavier users to replace the regular 65-gallon cart that is now provided by the city.

In addition, he said the city might consider a public education campaign to encourage residents to crush boxes, cans and plastic milk jugs to maximize the space in the cart. The city also might look to increase the number of drop-off sites for recyclables, he said.

Currently, the city’s Solid Waste & Recycling Division sends three different trucks by homes weekly, a garbage truck, a yard waste truck and a recycling truck.

Hershner said the every-other-week schedule for recycling would mean the city could provide the service with six recycling trucks, down from the 10 that the city currently uses.

Each truck costs about $320,000, so the city would save $1.3 million in the next truck purchase cycle, he said.

He said the city also would save money through employee attrition if recycling trips are reduced by half.

There would be additional cost to buy larger CURBY carts for customers who want them, he said.

Council member Scott Olson, the committee chairman, and council and committee member Ralph Russell both said they liked the every-other-week plan.

Olson resides in the area where the pilot study was conducted, and he said he had to check his neighbors to see if they had put their recycling carts to know if it was the week to do so.

Hershner said the city could provide residents with a magnet to affix to a refrigerator or some other reminder of the weeks in which recycling service would be available.