With the approval of the mandatory recycling ordinance after a second reading before the City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 13, the city continues to move forward with proposed waste diversion and recycling legislation to begin next year. Residents and business owners could face increased fees ” in some cases nearly double ” for dumping at the Miramar landfill.
The increases would recover some costs from recycling efforts, which divert waste from the fast-filling landfill, said Kip Sturdevan, deputy director of the city’s Environmental Services Department (ESD).
Sturdevan, along with representatives of the ESD, told members of the Natural Resources and Culture Committee on Nov. 2 that current recycling legislation does not provide for the recovery of certain fees for trash disposal. The proposed amendments would mitigate some of the impact.
The more material diverted from the waste stream, the less money can be collected from the fees charged for it, Sturdevan said.
“We are almost addicted to trash,” he told committee members.
Sturdevan and other ESD representatives outlined proposed increases to curbside trash and recycle container fees during the meeting.
If approved by the City Council, replacement container fees would increase from $50 to $70 and a new $25 container delivery fee would also apply for residents requesting new or additional cans. Newly constructed residences are exempt from the container delivery fee, Sturdevan said.
Fees for dumping at Miramar would also increase over the next two years, beginning Jan. 1. According to an October report to the committee, the current self-haul flat-rate fee for a pickup truck would increase from $12 to $21 in 2008, then jump to $30 in 2009.
Flat-rate fees for passenger vehicles and pickup trucks have not increased since 1993, according to the report.
The committee forwarded the report to the full City Council, which passed it on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
While the fee increases aim at mitigating short-term fiscal impacts of the recycling ordinances, they don’t cover long-term recycle fund and refuse disposal fund balances, which are projected to have a negative balance in a few years, Sturdevan said.
The two funds support various services around the city, including curbside recycling and greenery collection service, he said.
“If these funds are projected to go negative, something’s got to be done,” said Tom Haynes of the city’s Independent Budget Analyst Office.
He said the city would have to address the issue within the next year.
While city departments work to find ways to keep the city’s recycling program affordable, the council continues to increase recycling diversion efforts.
The recycling ordinance recently passed by the City Council on Oct. 30, and the proposed Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Diversion ordinance mandate such efforts.
Passed by the City Council in 2005, the C&D ordinance could increase the diversion rate by about 5 percent by requiring mixed C&D, according to a report from the Office of Independent Budget Analyst. The ordinance requires recycling of construction and demolition refuse.
The proposed amendments to the C&D ordinance would trigger the ordinance when a certified facility opens within 25 miles of downtown San Diego.
A private, mixed-use C&D facility operates in Lemon Grove and would start receiving material from the city in July 2008 if the ordinance is approved.
The recycle ordinance, approved on Nov. 13, takes effect Jan. 1, 2008, according to city officials. The ordinance phases in recycling programs for all residential facilities, all commercial facilities and special events in the city by Jan. 1, 2010, according to language in the ordinance.
The law is intended to divert waste from Miramar Landfill, which is expected reach capacity within the next five years. The law would satisfy the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989.
The act requires all cities to divert at least 50 percent of waste from landfills. In 2005, San Diego achieved a 52 percent diversion rate, according to city documents.
Should the city fail to meet those standards in the future, it could cost San Diegans $10,000 a day in fines, according to city documents.
“If the Miramar landfill goes away, it’s going to be real expensive to handle the trash,” Sturdeven said. “Anything that extends the life of the Miramar landfill benefits the San Diego taxpayer.”