Council Votes to Set $5 Monthly Fee for Extra Trash Containers

Setting the stage for a potential clash with Mayor Richard Riordan, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to impose a new $5 monthly fee on residents who request an additional trash container for their weekly refuse.

The fee, which officials hope will generate $8 million annually, is intended to help recoup the extra cost of hauling the city’s trash to private dumps after the Lopez Canyon landfill in Lake View Terrace is closed July 1.

Although the extra levy is technically a fee and not a tax, Riordan’s aides said the mayor may consider vetoing the new charge because he pledged in his election campaign never to raise taxes.

Riordan’s spokeswoman, Noelia Rodriguez said the mayor was out of town Wednesday but has 10 days to veto the action.

“Any time you are asking people to pay more for services, it warrants an extra look,” she said.

The council voted 8 to 3 for the fee, with Rita Walters, Rudy Svorinich Jr. and Joel Wachs voting against it. The 1-member council would need 10 votes to override a mayoral veto.

The city currently provides residents with a 60-gallon container but picks up extra trash at no cost. The fee is expected to take effect July 1 and applies to residents who request up to 30 gallons of extra trash capacity.

The new fee was opposed by some lawmakers representing South-Central Los Angeles who said some large, low-income families who can’t afford the extra fee are likely to dump trash in alleys and empty lots rather than pay for an extra container.

“My district already has a big dumping problem,” Walters said.

Although there is a provision for waiving the cost for large and low-income families, Walters said she fears that the word may not get out to all the residents and that ultimately few will take advantage of it.

Svorinich, who represents Watts and the Harbor area, echoed those concerns, saying the fee may “exacerbate the illegal dumping problem in my community.”

Wachs, who represents parts of the East San Fernando Valley, said he voted against the fee in part because it would be unfair to horse owners who have to pay the extra $5 to dump their manure even though it can be recycled as fertilizer. He suggested a lower fee for manure.

But Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose northeast Valley district includes the Lopez Canyon landfill, said he shares the concerns about dumping problems but believes the fee will encourage residents to recycle more and throw away less trash.

In addition, he said some of the revenue from the fee can be used to promote recycling programs.

Last month, the council ended years of debate over the fate of Lopez Canyon--the last city-run dump--when it voted to close it July 1 despite a study showing that the dump can accommodate trash for another five years for about $8 million a year less than it costs to haul city trash to private dumps.

The extra fee was proposed as a way of appeasing several council members who supported the closure of the dump but worried about how the city can pay for the extra cost of using private facilities.

The 400-acre landfill receives about 80% of the city’s trash.

But for years, noise, odors, dust, truck traffic and methane gas emissions from the dump have generated protests from neighbors and their elected representatives, including Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) and Alarcon.

Residents who need the extra capacity can pay $5 a month and trade in their 60-gallon containers for 90-gallon cans that will be picked up at the curb by city trash trucks. For residents who need the extra trash capacity on a day-to-day basis, the city will sell orange tags for $1 each that can be put on a trash bag or other container that is left on the street curb.

Residents can pay a $2.50 fee for extra containers to dispose of yard trimmings, which the city uses to make compost.