Countywide : Fee Increase for Use of Landfills Urged

It might cost $13.25 more to dump refuse at a county landfill.

The county’s waste management advisory commission, faced with an $87.7-million revenue loss over the past six years and hurt by the county bankruptcy, last week recommended the hefty increase.

Currently, it costs $22.75 to use any of the county’s three landfills, located in Irvine, Brea and near San Juan Capistrano.

The commission, which advises the county’s Department of Integrated Waste Management, wants the dumping fee raised starting July 1.

If approved by the Board of Supervisors on May 23, the hike would cost residents an additional $24 annually per household to have their garbage picked up, said Cymanthia Atkinson, a spokeswoman for the county’s waste management department.

Trash haulers, she said, are expected to pass on the costs this summer when renegotiating their contracts with cities.

It would be the first increase since 1991.

Ron Hosterey, commission chairman, said: “We want to keep the cost down, but the decline in the amount of trash going into the landfills isn’t covering what it costs to run the system.”

However, if the county goes ahead with a proposal to import trash from surrounding counties to raise more revenue, the commission agreed it would lower the fee to $30.

Financial studies conclude the fee hike is necessary because less trash is being dumped in county landfills due to successful recycling programs required by the state.

Also, government mandates--such as lining the landfills with a thick plastic to prevent seepage and coming up with gas recovery programs--are costly.