Along with the rest of California, Signal Hill needs to start recycling organic waste by Jan. 1, 2022, per Senate Bill (SB) 1383. The bill, passed in 2016, was designed to help combat disasters caused by climate change, such as wildfires, extreme drought and rising sea levels.
“Scientists tell us that greenhouse gasses released by human activities, like landfilling food and yard waste, cause climate change,” the State’s CalRecycle regulatory program says on its website. “To respond to this climate crisis, California is implementing statewide organic-waste recycling and surplus-food recovery.”
Californians dispose of about 27 million tons of organic waste per year—including food, paper and lumber—representing two-thirds of all trash, Public Works Director Kelli Tunnicliff told the Signal Hill City Council during its June 22 meeting.
The cost of collecting and processing that organic waste to divert it from landfills—which CalRecycle estimates to be $330 million statewide—may be passed on to Signal Hill residents through a 40% to 70% hike on their trash bills, Tunnicliff said.
See related story: Signal Hill to start recycling organic waste by Jan. 1, 2022, possibly for higher fee
The City Council will conduct two public hearings—during its Aug. 24 and Sept. 14 meetings— before deciding on the rate increases. If approved, the rate hikes would go into effect on Oct. 14.
The City is mailing residents and businesses notice of the increases and public hearings during the first week of July, Tunnicliff said.
Single-family residences, which now pay $16.50 per month, would see a net increase of $6.65 per month with the addition of organics recycling—a 40% increase. The new rate of $23.15 will fall to $22.30 after the first year, however, due to a small initial program adjustment that goes away.
Steve South, president and CEO of Signal Hill’s disposal service EDCO, said residents can have at least one but as many as three 64-gallon organic-waste bins per household, or 32-gallon bins if there are space issues.
People who now pay for a second trash bin can potentially eliminate that charge in favor of an extra organics bin at no additional charge, South said.
For multifamily residences like apartment buildings, the monthly rate would increase by an average of 73%—from $128.49 to $222.10—Tunnicliff said. The new rate will reduce by $6.68 after the first year.
“There are opportunities in the multifamily, though, for neighbors to work together to reduce the trash—diverting more of their trash to organics—and thereby reducing the cost of the trash service to help offset the organics cost,” she said.
Commercial rates would also increase on average by about 40%, or $70.54 per month, with the implementation of organic-waste collection.
Councilmember Tina Hansen, who served on the City’s SB 1383 implementation subcommittee, said she wanted to give Signal Hill residents and businesses time to prepare for the two public hearings.
“We want to make sure that this is as transparent and up-front as we can make it so that people have a chance to come and get all the clarification that they need,” Hansen said.
In addition to supplying residents and businesses with a third disposal container in the fall, the City will build a new infrastructure and system to collect and sort organic waste to divert it from landfills.
By 2025, SB 1383 also requires 20% more edible food to be salvaged from local retailers that they would otherwise trash, Tunnicliff said.
Signal Hill will implement an edible-food recovery program for its Costco, Food 4 Less, Mother’s Market and Target retailers by Jan. 1, 2022, and Applebee’s restaurant by Jan. 1, 2024, Tunnicliff said.
Mayor Edward Wilson commented that diverting organic waste from landfills presents a challenge, and not just economically.
“It will require individuals and households to change their disposal habits,” he said.
Update, Thursday, June 24: This story was updated to include dates of public hearings related to the organics recycling fee increase.
