Council Approves Waste Management Annual Fee Increase

approved an annual fee increase for Waste Management services Monday night, but also raised reported by some Albany residents.

In their April 16 council meeting, elected officials approved the 4.59 percent rate increase requested by Waste Management. The increase will mean most families with a 32-gallon bin will pay $1.67 extra each month, for a total of $38.04 per month beginning in May. 

(Residents with a , and those with a , will pay less. Learn .)

Late last year, council members approved a for trash and recycling pick-up services. City staff said, at that time, residents would later see an annual rate increase of about 4 to 8 percent, depending on Waste Management costs. 

City Clerk Nicole Almaguer told the council Monday that, as part of the 2011 franchise agreement with Waste Management, Albany received a number of special services, such a solar trash and recycling compactors around town and curbside CFL bulb, cell phone and battery collection.

City residents will also benefit, she said, from a compost give-away planned for the , numerous public education programs and increased outreach to commercial and multi-family properties around town. 

The city also received funding from Waste Management for a new Albany staff position to help implement these new programs, said Almaguer.

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asked Almaguer to work with Waste Management to investigate whether Albany might benefit from savings if the city agreed to fewer trash and recycling pick-ups per month.

OFFICIALS REQUEST SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS

Though the council voted unanimously to accept the rate increase, several council members and one member of the public noted concerns about recurring problems with the placement of bins following trash pick-up. 

Albany resident and former mayor Allan Maris told the council that bins blocking parking and driveways often require community members to park in the street, creating a hazard, to correct the situation. 

said, on a recent week, he took photographs of Waste Management bins scattered "all up and down my street" following trash collection. The haphazard bin placement obstructed parking near many homes, he added. 

"We've been talking about this a long time," he said. "The agreement says to put them back where we've left them... not in the street, but on the curbside with the handles toward the sidewalk."

He said he often, though not always, finds bins either in the driveway or "turned over in the street. It's an ongoing problem. I wish it would get solved. It's not that hard."

said she's heard from many residents who experience similar problems. 

"Cans are dumped over on the sidewalk so people can't get by them without picking them up. That's almost worse than in the street," she said. "It's dangerous for people with mobility problems."

She also related one instance where she had pointed out, to a trash collector, recycling falling out of a Waste Management truck into the street. Rather than retrieving the materials, Thomsen said, he got into his truck and drove off.

"We're paying a lot of money for not such good service," she said.

said that, prior to the , he had no problems with garbage pick-up. In the past several months, however, he said bins are often "out in the street, here or there, hit or miss."

He said, even given just the range of experiences noted at the April 16 meeting, the collection service problems are "troubling." 

(Councilwoman Wile and said they hadn't experienced problems with pick-up.)

A SYSTEM FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Almaguer said Monday's meeting was the first she'd heard about some of the experiences noted above. 

She encouraged residents to take photographs of misplaced bins; note truck numbers if possible; note the material being collected (garbage, recycling or compost); and indicate the date of service and location (street address or block number). 

Problems should be reported to Waste Management so residents can get credit for faulty service. 

But residents having a consistent problem, Almaguer said, also can get in touch with her directly to share information. (She can be reached by email at nalmaguer@albanyca.org, or by phone at 510-528-5760.)

"I take this very seriously and I don't want to see cans all over the place," she told the council. "To some, it's a very touchy situation and something they've been seeing for years."

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Read more on the city website about Waste Management services for Albany residents. 

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.