Plan to Charge Residents for Extra Trash Advances

A Los Angeles City Council panel, in a bid to encourage recycling, approved a plan Tuesday to charge homeowners who generate large amounts of trash higher fees for extra trash containers.

Under the proposal that was endorsed unanimously by the Budget and Finance Committee, residents who participate in a new mandatory curbside recycling program would be given two 60-gallon containers and a recycling bin free. However, residents would be charged $5.35 per month for a 90-gallon container. Those requiring a third container would be charged $8.60 a month for an extra 60-gallon container, or $12.60 for another 90-gallon can.

“The focus of this proposal is not to raise revenue, but to change our habits by charging those of us who don’t, after recycling, reduce our volume of waste,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the committee chairman.

Councilman Richard Alatorre, while tentatively approving the plan, questioned its impact on large, low-income families who may not be able to afford the extra trash container.