A regional curbside recycling program that serves Richmond, Henrico County and seven other localities is no longer in danger of collapsing.

One of the biggest partners, Chesterfield County, has decided to continue supporting the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority’s program of collecting paper, cardboard, glass and other recyclable items from residences for at least three more years.

Instead of pulling out, as the county had threatened last year because of rising costs, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted instead to approve an increase in the yearly fee households pay for CVWMA’s curbside service.

On Feb. 19, the board unanimously agreed to raise the fee by $15 a year effective June 5 and to remain in the program until at least 2023 when its contract for recycling service expires and a new one would be up for approval.

The vote raises the fee county households would pay as part of their property tax bills to $40 a year, up from the current $25 annual fee.

Richmond residents pay about $36 a year for curbside recy- cling, while Henrico pays the entire cost from taxes and does not charge residents a separate fee.

According to a Chesterfield staff report, the fee increase means the payment from the 94,000 participating households would cover the county’s cost of participating in the recycling program and allow the county to shift the $859,000 it currently spends to other uses when the new budget year begins July 1.

Chesterfield, Richmond and Henrico generate most of the nearly 50,000 tons of recyclable material that CVWMA reports processing yearly.

If Chesterfield had pulled out of the program, the remaining localities would have faced a substantial increase in cost to keep the program going.

The county has one-third of the 270,000 participating house- holds and generates 14,000 tons of recycling material, or nearly one-third of the total, according to CVWMA.

Recycling programs across the country have faced upheaval since China essentially stopped taking such material, and CVWMA has been no different.

It has had to raise the cost to participating localities. While other localities agreed to swallow the increase, Chesterfield initially objected to paying more for the CVWMA service.