Residents Frustrated Over Waste Rate Hike

The ratepayers of Burlingame, residents and those with commercial properties in the city, expressed their frustrations to city council Tuesday evening over a proposed 17 percent increase in waste collection costs.

Many residents who spoke at the council meeting shared complaints about the level of service provided by Recology, .

One resident said that Recology was unresponsive to her concern (and emails) that garbage pick-ups on her block coincide with the street cleanup schedule, making it difficult to place waste bins by the curbside. Other residents said that their waste bins were not picked up at all.

"We're being forced to take this from Recology. We are being forced to take new cans. We are being forced to pay a rate increase. Its unconscionable," said one concerned resident.

Despite these voiced concerns, 55 formal protests made to the city in writing, and less than 50 complaints phoned in to the city (most of which were in regards to poor garbage service), council members approved the 17 percent rate increase to the cost of waste services.  This increase will go into effect on February 11.

Councilmember Michael Brownrigg took issue with the 17 percent rate increase, but reluctantly passed a motion to approve the cost, citing the necessity to provide the city with a garbage collections service.

"There are no Burlingame garbage trucks," said Brownrigg. "We have no other options."

The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Terry Nagel struck a conciliatory tone while addressing the public on the council's decision.

"We do this not with great joy in our hearts, but because this is the only option we have," said Mayor Nagel.

Burlingame Finance Director, Jesus Nava, explained that a 17 percent rate increase is necessary to afford the costs of Recology's services and to repay Allied Waste for the service provided in 2010.

Though Recology won the bid to service Burlingame beginning in January from among the bids of Allied, Republic and Sunset Scavenger Company, the city still owes about $721,000 dollars to Allied Waste. According to Nava, this sum must be paid by September, or no later than December, of this year. 

 4.6 percent of the total 17 percent rate increase will go toward this payment.

Though city council members shared hopes that Recology's services  in 2012 will not result in another rate hike, and the 4.6 percent accounting for fees due to Allied Waste will be a one-time expense, the collective bargaining agreement for Recology's labor force currently provides for employees to receive annual pay increases of 4 percent until 2013.

This collective bargaining agreement is part of the reason for an increased cost of service with Recology. Although these terms were negotiated between Allied Waste and the labor force with which the company worked at the time, Recology must still honor the labor agreement's provisions. 

It is possible that for the 2012 waste collection year, higher rates may account for this 4 percent increase in Recology's labor costs.

1.4 percent of the rate increase is due to "can migration," or choosing a smaller waste bin than the standard 32-gallon bin provided by Recology. Garbage collection for the smaller bins are provided at a cheaper rate, and this 1.4 percent rate increase takes into account lost revenue, according to Navas.

A majority of the rate increase, 11 percent, covers the costs for the new contract with Recology.

A number of other Peninsula cities belonging to the joint powers authority known as Rethink Waste have also determined rate increases for the cost of Recology's services. Rethink Waste was established in 1982 by 12 member agencies, including the City of Burlingame, to meet a 50 percent diversion of waste from landfills mandated by state law AB 939. 

More frequent garbage pick-ups and weekly recycling and green waste (compost) pick-ups are among the new services Recology provides to Burlingame and other Rethink Waste member cities.

Gino Gasparini, Recology Community Affairs Manager, cited these more frequent pick-up routes as one reason for waste collection disruption during Recology's first weeks in servicing the city.

"I do apologize to residential and commercial ratepayers," said Gasparini, who also remarked that Recology's takeover of services previously provided by Allied Waste was "the largest rollout of this kind, for this service, in history in this country."