MOORPARK : City to Pressure Trash Law Violators

Moorpark officials decided Wednesday to crack down on residents and business owners who do not have their garbage picked up by one of the city’s franchised refuse haulers.

On a unanimous vote, the City Council directed staff to devise a way to enforce a city ordinance requiring all businesses and households to contract with a garbage collector. A likely means of enforcement will be to authorize the city’s trash haulers to bill residents and businesses that do not voluntarily contract for garbage pickup, said Mary K. Lindley, assistant to the city manager.

People may be encouraged to sign up for garbage collection if they know they will have to pay anyway, she said.

About 450 of the city’s 7,000 households and an unknown number of businesses do not have their refuse collected by the city’s trash haulers, Lindley said.

Moorpark households pay $15.35 a month for garbage pickup. The monthly fee for businesses varies, Lindley said.

Officials are not sure what happens to garbage not collected by haulers, Lindley said. “Sometimes we get reports of some people dumping stuff in their neighbors’ garbage cans,” she said. “Sometimes we get reports of people dumping stuff in their alleys.” People who don’t pay to have their garbage collected reduce the franchise fees that the city receives from trash haulers, Lindley said.

Four percent of the residential garbage fees and 10% of commercial garbage fees go to the city, which uses the money for recycling programs, Lindley said.