City of Long Beach Waste Collection Rates Are Going To Increase 41%

The City of Long Beach, California is sending notices to property owners during the month of July 2022 letting them know of an upcoming rate increase for refuse/recycling within the next six months. The rate increase will be 41%.

The purpose of the rate increase is to allocate resources to keep Long Beach in compliance with the California law SB1383 which mandates that municipalities reduce the amount of organic waste they are sending to landfills.

The rates will be approved at the Long Beach City Council meeting on August 23rd. Here is the web page where the upcoming #LongBeachCA City Council meeting agendas are posted in advance and where there is the link for "ecomments".

California SB1383 mandates that ALL cities reduce organic waste going to landfills by 75%

Every city in the state of California has had to raise rates in order to implement food waste recycling and the recovery of edible foods in accordance with California SB1383.

These programs were supposed to be in place by January 1st 2022, but most cities could not meet that deadline and have worked with CalRecycle local staff in order to roll out these programs during the 2022 calendar year.

Some highlights from the video

If Residents Reduce Waste And Make Demands, Rate Increases May Not Stick

Long Beach is increasing rates now to pay for the
A) Extra bins it is now mandated to supply to commercial customers
B) Extra staff to collect those bins and transport the waste to composting facilities.

These upfront costs can't be avoided in order to be in compliance with the law. But imagine if every resident reduced their own organic waste output. During the 2023-2024 public budget meetings Long Beach voters could demand to see the numbers regarding how much organic waste is being diverted. If it is less than the city first anticipated (because residents did such a good job at reducing their organic waste) residents could demand a rate reduction.

Here's a 3min29sec video on how you can reduce food waste at home.

In a time of higher inflation worldwide, no resident likes to read that their trash collection bill is also about to increase by 41%. But more methane really does mean larger California fires and accelerated global warming. Composting done on a massive scale really can enrich the production value of the soil in California’s agriculture heartland and reduce greenhouse gases. Climate change is real and is so urgent that no more time can be spared in allocating the resources necessary to fight it.

Resources Provided By CalReycle

Those interested in a deeper dive into this topic can check out this Power Point presentation developed by CalRecycle. This slide presentation was developed for local jurisdiction staff by CalRecycle staff to educate city council and board of supervisor members, city and county staff, decision-makers, and other impacted colleagues. The slides include suggested talking points. CalRecycle has a webpage full of educational resources about SB1381.