YORBA LINDA : Bond to Aid Recycle Program Approved

The City Council has approved issuing a $5.5-million bond to buy 13 garbage trucks and about 34,000 trash bins for the new recycling program.

But council members on Tuesday delayed a vote on increasing trash rates by 31%, opting to wait until there is more information on the costs of the recycling program and the effect that the bond debt will have on disposal rates.

The recycling proposal comes in response to a state law that requires each city to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills 25% by 1995 and 50% by the year 2000.

“It’s not something we are going to like to do,” Ric Collett, the director of recycling services for Yorba Linda Disposal, told council members. “It is something we are going to have to do. We’re burying ourselves in our own garbage, and that is going to mean some adjustment.”

Under a proposal worked out in the past few months between city staff and Yorba Linda Disposal, monthly residential trash rates will rise $3.07 to $12.87.

At a public hearing that attracted about 90 people, some residents objected to the increase, saying it unfairly charges those who already separate their recyclables and take them to collection centers.

“We’re going to get penalized,” said Ellwyn Brickson. “We’re going to have to pay more than the cost of taking it to the recycling agency. . . . “

But other residents supported the program, saying recycling will not work unless it is mandatory.

The recycling program would distribute two bins to each household--a green one for recyclables and a black one for other garbage.

The recycling proposal also includes launching a pilot program in which about 700 households would receive a 110-gallon barrel for compost materials that would be collected each week.

City officials also expect a high level of support for the program. A survey of 300 residents in May showed overwhelming approval.