The Poway City Council will look at increasing rates for solid waste and recycling collection services at its meeting Tuesday.
The solid waste franchise agreement between the city and EDCO Waste and Recycling Services allows EDCO to submit a request for a rate review once a year. This request is allowed when necessitated by an increase in the Consumer Price Index (a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban customers for consumer goods and services), a change in landfill disposal costs or costs due to extraordinary circumstances.
EDCO has submitted a request for a rate adjustment for fiscal year 2020-21, according to an agenda report by city staff.
The rate adjustment includes a 1.93 percent increase due to changes in the CPI, a 2.59 percent increase to the disposal fee and an organics recycling fee for residential and commercial collection services. The organics recycling fee for residential will be $3.68 per month, while the fee for commercial collection service will vary.
EDCO’s last rate increase was on July 1, 2019.
The organics recycling fee will not go into effect until EDCO’s anaerobic digestion facility becomes operational, probably in early 2021.
The percent increase averages about 31 cents a month for a residence with 35-gallon service and 45 cents a month for a residential home with 95-gallon service. A commercial business with 3-yard bin service (serviced once a week) will see an increase of $2.41 per month.
If approved by the council, the rate increase will go into effect on July 1. The next step will be EDCO ordering residential organic/green carts, which are estimated to begin being delivered to customer homes in October and November. After the new organic/green bins are delivered, customers will be required to use the new bins for yard waste collection only, as EDCO will no longer service green waste in individual 32- or 35-gallon trash containers or pick up yard waste in trash bags, according to the agenda report.
Proposition 218 requires the customer of record be given the right to protest increases in solid waste and recycling collection rate increases prior to approval. The city’s public notice was mailed to 14,964 customers of record on April 16.
Approving this rate increase will increase the city’s General Fund Solid Waste Franchise Fee account by approximately $85,000 to $88,000 per fiscal year.
The meeting will be closed to the public due to state restrictions for public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The public can watch the meeting live at 7 p.m. Tuesday via the internet or on television (Cox: channel 24, Spectrum: channel 19). Those wishing to make a public comment on an item can call in. Instructions on how to watch or call in are on the city’s website, poway.org/councilmeetings.