Two private companies, McGree Trucking and AWARE Inc., have put in a bid to handle residential recyclable materials generated in Butte and Silver Bow County, Montana.

According to an article on the Montana Standard website, the two firms “want to provide curbside recycling for most of urban Butte and Walkerville [Montana]” without the involvement of local solid waste departments.

The proposal comes toward the tail end of what the article calls a “year-long campaign by the county’s Public Works Department of pitching, promoting and testing a curbside garbage collection program along with voluntary recycling.”

The new proposal may be voted on by county commissioners as soon as Sept. 16, 2015.

As described by the Standard, McGree trucks would pick up recyclables at participating households every two weeks and take them to an AWARE recycling facility in Butte for processing.

Although final costs have not been determined, households that choose to participate would likely pay a monthly fee in the $10 to $15 range and also pay up front (as much as $80) for a curbside container.

The service may be available in most of Butte as well as in the nearby towns of Rocker, Ramsay, Walkerville and an area known as Terra Verde that is south of Butte.

At least one commissioner quoted by the Standard has reacted favorably to the private firms’ proposal. Silver Bow County Public Works Director Dave Schultz also is quoted as saying the county would continue to operate three drop-off centers for recyclables, with those materials also heading to AWARE’s plant.