Riverside County supervisors Tuesday will consider a proposal to hike the rates charged for waste collection in unincorporated communities as part of an annual inflation adjustment.
(Flickr: Phil Roeder)
Under the proposed new fee schedule, beginning July 1, refuse retrieval charges would go up 2.2 percent in 13 county franchise areas, including Cabazon, Cherry Valley, Desert Center, East Hemet, Lake Mathews, San Jacinto, Thermal, Thousand Palms and Woodcrest.
According to the county Department of Environmental Health, the inflation-based rate adjustment would translate to an additional 2 to 5 cents on a customer’s bill.
The county used data from the core consumer price index for the Los Angeles metropolitan area over the last year to justify the hike.
The county contracts with five waste haulers to service the franchise zones. One of them, Waste Management Inc., requested that three new fees be established along with the rate increases.
The highest new charge, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, would be a $300 assessment for handling a “separate container … (used) for construction and demolition waste,” according to Department of Environmental Health documents.
Two other fees — $30 each — would be charged for sending multiple notices to residents and businesses about unpaid trash collection bills, and for filling recycle bins with solid waste to the point that any recyclables are rendered useless and a separate truck has to be sent to collect the garbage, according to agency documents.
County officials noted that the changes would not impact the majority of customers.
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