The City of Los Angeles is considering a proposal to allow businesses to share trash bins as complaints keep rolling in from businesses and apartment owners about skyrocketing trash pickup fees.
The outcries have come with the launch of the new franchise waste-hauling system that has been beset by service snafus and sticker shock since it went into effect in July.
The latest proposal from City Councilmen Mitch Englander and Bob Blumenfield would allow neighboring businesses to share trash bins and split the collection costs.
The proposal recognizes that many businesses “have half or quarter-filled bins, yet are paying the full price of each bin,” Englander and Blumenfield stated in a motion.
The council approved Englander and Blumenfield’s motion in concept last month, ordering city staff to report back later this month on its feasibility.
Single bin collection fees start at $216 per month for once-weekly pickup under the franchise system, with various additional charges that often double what businesses had been paying.
Some apartment owners say franchise haulers are allowed to charge ancillary fees on accounts where they service secure areas or have to roll out the bins to the trucks. Such services – which were generally included in haulers’ monthly charge before the franchise system launch – now often make up more than half of the monthly cost.
“The city needs to enact a cap on what the haulers can charge for these services,” said Fred Sutton, director of government affairs for the Greater Apartment Association of Los Angeles.
Seven haulers won bids late last year to serve as exclusive haulers for a decade in 11 franchise zones; they are expected to reap more than $3 billion in revenue over that time. City of Industry-based Athens Services Inc. has the largest contract, with three of the zones. The others are: CalMet Services of Paramount; NASA Services of Montebello; Republic Services of Phoenix; Universal Waste Systems of Santa Fe Springs; Ware Disposal of Santa Ana; and Waste Management Inc. of Houston.
– Howard Fine
