CAMARILLO : Council Defends Trash Pickup Fee

The Camarillo City Council is defending the city’s trash collection system, saying it would collapse if the city waived the curbside pickup fee for residents who want to dispose of their own recyclables.

Charles Thorne told the council during a public hearing Wednesday that he should not have to pay the city $1.87 a month because he takes his recyclable materials to a private collection center that pays him for the items.

“I’m paying for a service I do not receive,” Thorne said, urging the city to encourage other residents to use the private centers. “I’ve been recycling longer than you have.”

Mayor Stanley J. Daily said Thorne’s objections were reminiscent of those raised when Camarillo’s first City Council began charging residents for trash pickup nearly 30 years ago.

Residents said they did not want to pay to have their trash collected, because they would take care of it themselves, Daily recalled.

“They got rid of their trash all right,” Daily said. “It was along Arneill Road, along the eucalyptus trees” and along Las Posas Road.

Councilman Michael Morgan told Thorne to consider doing what he and his wife do: Take recyclable materials to the private collection center to help offset the $1.87 a month charge and “contribute” to the continued success of the city’ collection system.

The discussion came during a public hearing on a plan to halve the city’s waste volume by the year 2000 and to eliminate all hazardous waste from trash going to the county landfill. The council adopted the plan after the hearing.

The plan outlines how the city will provide education, information and incentives to the public concerning ways to generate less trash. It also identifies projected needs such as a new county facility for composting organic waste.