DANA POINT : Trash-Hauling Fee to Rise by 25 Cents

Starting in January, monthly trash fees for Dana Point households will increase slightly--to $13.50--to cover the city’s costs of managing and overseeing its new, more stringent solid-waste regulation standards that include curbside recycling.

The City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve the fee increase and a new rate structure for residential and commercial trash collection throughout the city. The increase for residences is 25 cents over a fee approved last June when the city raised the rates by 21%--from $10.96 to $13.25 per month.

The increase for commercial trash hauling will mean at least an additional $1.92 per month. Under the new agreement, Solag Disposal Inc., which already has the exclusive rights to haul the city’s residential trash, will also get the exclusive franchise for all commercial trash.

The new agreement will also require all households to pay for the trash-hauling services, whether they use them or not. The estimated 2,000 households that do not use the services of the city’s trash hauler will still have to pay a minimum of $9.79 a month to cover city costs, according to the new agreement.

The new contract includes two new 60-gallon trash bins for each residence, one for recyclable glass, aluminum and newspapers, and the other for all remaining trash.

Council members justified the fee increase by citing the $38,000 annual costs to the city to oversee new recycling regulations required by the state. Under new state laws, the city must show that it has reduced its solid waste by 25% by 1995 and by 50% by the year 2000.

“We don’t really have any choice. This is a state mandate,” said City Councilman Mike Eggers. “There is a slight increase in cost, but you get recycling with it. This is no small deal, but a major effort in solid-waste disposal and recycling.”

Mayor Karen Lloreda agreed. “Given what the requirements are, we looked through all the possibilities, and this is the best that is available,” she said.

Councilman William L. Ossenmacher cast the dissenting vote, calling the additional charges a “tax.” He also disagreed with the idea of requiring people to pay the trash hauling fees even if they do not use the service.