LOS ALAMITOS : City Ups Trash Fees, Encourages Recycling

The City Council this week approved higher trash collection fees for both residents and business owners but provided incentives for recycling.

In granting the city’s trash hauler, Briggeman Disposal, its first rate increase since July, 1991, officials said Monday that they want to send out the message to the community that it pays to recycle.

“It’s an attempt to provide incentives for residents and businesses to recycle,” said Assistant City Manager Gerard Goedhart.

However, with the new rates, which take effect March 1, residents and business owners will pay some of the highest trash fees in the area, a city survey showed.

Under the new rates, residents will pay $12.56 a month for a 100-gallon trash bin, up 60 cents. Business rates will rise 5% to 10%, depending on the size of the bin and how often trash is picked up.

Residents using 60-gallon trash bins will continue to pay the old rate of $11.31 a month, Goedhart said. He also said there will be no increase for businesses using the two-cubic-yard bin.

George Briggeman, owner of the Los Alamitos-based trash hauling company, said the idea of maintaining current rates for the 60-gallon trash bins while increasing the fees for 100-gallon containers is to encourage residents to use the smaller container.

“As the 100-gallon rate rises and the 60-gallon stays, there is a motivation for people to recycle,” Briggeman said.

Goedhart said that of the city’s 1,940 single-family households, 110 use the 60-gallon container. The $5 fee for an additional container will double to $10, he said. The three 14-gallon baskets that residents use for their recyclables will remain free, he said.

In addition, Briggeman will pick up free two bulky items, such as a couch or refrigerator, each year for each household, but there will be charges for subsequent pickups. The charges vary from $10 for a toilet seat to $30 for a hide-a-bed.

The survey of neighboring cities conducted on Jan. 14 showed that under the new rates, Los Alamitos would be charging the most for the 100-gallon containers. According to the survey, Stanton charges $11.85 a month, La Palma $11.55, Santa Ana $11.86, Huntington Beach $12 and Buena Park $10.12.

Los Alamitos’ new rates are also higher than residents pay in Cypress and Seal Beach, which are both serviced by Briggeman Disposal.

Cypress charges $11.80 for both the 100-gallon and 60-gallon containers, according to Jammie Herbon, the city’s recycling consultant. A request for a rate increase is pending, however, said City Manager Darrell Essex.

In Seal Beach, single-family homeowners pay a flat rate of $12.25 monthly, regardless of the amount of trash, while those in apartments pay $11.75, according to Marcie Palmitier of the Finance Department. Palmitier said trash is picked up twice a week, but there is no current curbside recycling program.

Goedhart said the results of the survey are misleading, since some cities do not have curbside recycling and therefore do not incur additional costs.

“We’ll still have one of the most competitive rates in Orange County,” he said.