YORBA LINDA : Trash-Disposal Fee Increased by 31%

In a move opposed by the mayor, the City Council has passed a 31% increase in disposal rates to pay for the cost of a new trash recycling program.

The new rates will raise the price of residential trash collection from $9.80 to $12.85 a month effective April 1. City officials also warned that because of an expected increase in county landfill fees, the price per customer could rise an additional $1.50 a month or more in July.

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

Earlier this month, council members approved issuing about $4.1 million in bonds to pay for the program, which includes 10 automated recycling trucks and almost 35,000 containers.

Under the program, each household will get two bins--a green one for recyclables, and a black one for other trash--to be collected by an automated truck with a robotic arm. The recycling plan also includes a pilot program in which about 700 households are to receive a 110-gallon barrel for compost materials that will be collected weekly.

Council members approved the increase in a 4-1 vote Tuesday after nearly 90 minutes of debate. Mayor Mark Schwing voted against the price increase, saying he believes the city could have received a better deal for the cans had it been more involved in the bidding.

“I am not convinced we are getting the full value for our dollar,” Schwing said. “I am just not convinced we are doing the right thing for the household.”

In October, the City Council authorized Yorba Linda Disposal to use the same bids that were received in February, 1990, for a similar program in the Garden Grove Sanitation District.

At the time, Yorba Linda city officials said that such “piggybacking” on the Garden Grove bids would save time and money because the cost of trucks and barrels were expected to increase.

Although he favors the recycling program, Schwing said that Yorba Linda might have received a better price for the bins had the bidding allowed for another, cheaper type of bin.

Still, other council members voted in favor of the increase, saying that they needed to get moving with the program to fulfill the state mandates.

“We’re well down the road on this project,” Councilman Henry W. Wedaa said. “Let’s move ahead.”

Others saw flaws in the bidding process, but they agreed it was time to get on with the program.

“We have to go on with recycling,” Councilman John M. Gullixson said. “But I don’t think we got a fair, broad-based bid to even piggyback on it. I don’t even know why we piggybacked on it in the first place.”