COSTA MESA : Residents Complain About Trash Bin Fee

Some residents are trashing the new $25 fee the city is charging them to place rubbish bins on residential streets and other public rights of way.

Since the fee went into effect in July, a dozen residents have complained to Madelene Arakelian, the owner of the Irvine-based South Coast Refuse Corp. and Integrated Recycling Systems, where the bins are rented.

Arakelian said he was losing business because of the fee. “People call up and ask how much we rent for. We tell them the price, then the fee, and they say, ‘Forget it.’ ”

Bill Morris, the city’s public services director, said the fee was imposed as part of a cost-recovery program.

“It’s never a good time to raise fees to cover overhead,” he said. “But the city isn’t making any money--we’re losing money.”

Morris said it costs the city every time it sends inspectors out to ensure that the movable bins have reflectors on them when they’re placed in the streets.

If they don’t, then motorists could run into them in the dark, he said.

The wheels on some of the heavier bins, Morris said, can ruin streets by sinking into the asphalt on hot days.

So inspectors must double-check that they’re placed in just the right place.

If residents want to avoid the fee, they should place the bins in their driveways, Morris said.

Arakelian, however, would like to see the new fee tacked onto only the 40-cubic-yard size bins and not the smaller, 3-cubic-yard models.

“I’d like to see something more reasonable,” she said.

Morris said the city has never charged for inspection fees in the past and he didn’t think the fee was too high for residents.

He said the city is liable for any damages the large bins might cause, and that is another reason behind the new fee.

But Arakelian said she thinks the city is just trying to bring in extra revenue.

“I haven’t had a damage claim filed by the city in 18 years,” she said. “I think the fee is too excessive.”