One city near Birmingham is doubling down on its partnership with the private company that handles trash collection, despite questions about how much recycling is going on in the suburbs.

Cinnamon McCulley, assistant city manager for Vestavia Hills, said the city is not considering a review of its partnership with AmWaste.

“AmWaste’s reported financials validate that they are paying a premium for third party recycling facilities’ waste repurposing activities,” McCulley said in an email to AL.com.

However, the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, a collection of several Birmingham suburbs that pay AmWaste for trash and recycling services, is reviewing AmWaste’s financials for further confirmation, McCulley said.

David Mowery, a spokesperson for AmWaste, said the company was not concerned about the review, saying it’s “standard.”

An AL.com investigation published last week found that plastic bottles and soda cans from four Birmingham suburbs — including Vestavia Hills — went to Big Sky Environmental, a landfill northwest of Birmingham.

The mixed trash and recycling collection is supposed to be transported to RePower South in Montgomery to be sorted. The facility, despite a couple of fires, said it was open and taking waste when AL.com dropped trackers into recycling to find out where it was going.

AmWaste said Big Sky is capable of recycling, and when RePower South closes, that’s where it goes.

McCulley provided more explanation of the recycling process. AmWaste uses RePower South or Big Sky for recycling services, depending on availability, she said. The comingled trash and recycling collection first goes to a landfill in Sylvan Springs, where it is dumped and prepared for transport, she said in an email.

None of the tracking devices deployed by AL.com pinged in Sylvan Springs. An Apple AirTag deployed from Homewood showed up at Big Sky within hours of being picked up, as did a satellite tracker from Vestavia Hills. A second satellite tracker dropped in Homewood showed up at Big Sky the morning after it was picked up.

McCulley said the two recipients of the trash and recycling collection — Big Sky and RePower South — treat the collection very differently.

“While these two facilities recycle differently, the goal for both facilities is to recycle and/or repurpose as much as possible to divert waste from being deposited at the landfill,” McCulley said in an email.

RePower South sorts the paper, aluminum, and plastic and sells them on the commodities markets, McCulley said. Around 70% of what is not recycled is turned into “ReEF Fuel,” which is used as a fuel source in industrial and energy utility boilers.

McCulley said Big Sky takes all of the recyclables and turns it into “energy feedstock” that is used as a fuel source in cement production facilities.

“Energy feedstock/ReEF fuel burns cleaner than coal and is desired by industrial and energy utilities for energy generation,” McCulley said in an email.

A representative for Big Sky did not respond to a request for comment.

As for AmWaste, Mowery said what happens after the company drops trash and recycling off is not its concern.

“We’re kind of dedicated to — in general, we like recycling, and we’re dedicated to doing what the people of the Cahaba Valley Solid Waste Authority want to do,” Mowery said. “But we can’t necessarily concern ourselves with what happens to it after we drop it off where they tell us to.”

AL.com began investigating where recycling from the Birmingham suburbs was going following complaints from residents who were skeptical that recycling services were being provided as advertised.

Following numerous phone calls, AL.com decided to drop tracking devices into recycling to determine where it was going.

The Cahaba solid waste authority’s next public meeting has not been set yet.

McCulley said recycling is not on the agenda for Vestavia’s next council meeting on April 14 but the topic might be discussed.