By Mike Hazlip—
The Fourth of July is a day to celebrate freedom, but in Citrus Heights it’s also the date when residents and businesses will be required to start complying with a new state-mandated organics waste recycling program.
Citrus Heights Operations Manager Mary Poole told The Sentinel that starting July 4, residents should be aware that all food waste and food-soiled paper should now go into the green cart that was previously reserved only for yard clippings and other green waste. She said the program “is focused only on food waste and food soiled paper that would otherwise go in their garbage cart.”
As part of the program, Poole said the city’s waste services contractor, Republic Services, will be delivering green carts for residents who do not already have one, and a smaller kitchen scraps countertop pail will also be delivered to residents. The smaller pail is for holding and transporting kitchen scraps to the larger green waste bin, now called the “green organic cart,” Poole said.
Residents living in apartments and other high-density locations can work with a home owners association to arrange for custom collection services, she said.
Some residents who already compost their food waste have objected to paying higher fees for a program they largely won’t use. Poole said residents are encouraged to continue composting, and said the new program also includes diverting away from landfills kitchen grease and food soiled paper products that are not typically used in home composting.
All California residents are required to participate in the program, but Poole said staff will take an education-based approach rather than penalize residents for non-compliance. There will be a six-month grace period that will include education and multiple warnings. After that, a “contamination surcharge” could be applied for residents who continue to put prohibited materials in collection carts.
The program, initiated with the passage of Senate Bill 1383 by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016, aims to curb methane emissions by reducing the amount of organic waste in landfills. The law requires jurisdictions to provide weekly organic waste collection services, or face hefty penalties.
Under the new changes required by the bill, green waste carts will be collected weekly instead of bi-weekly, and residents will be required to place food scraps and food-soiled paper in the green bin. Fees will also increase to cover the extra collection cost.
Individual rate increases will vary, depending on the size of the collection cart, Poole said. Fees for a typical 64-gallon cart are anticipated to rise by about $7 per month, or $14 per two-month billing cycle, according to a prior estimate from the city.
Customers wanting an extra green waste cart will be charged an additional $14 per month starting July 4, Poole said.
From January: Citrus Heights council votes 3-2 for waste fee hike, amid opposition
The City Council reluctantly passed a fee increase to cover the cost of the new program, but council members expressed their objection to the state’s decision to mandate the program.
“Nobody is happy about this,” said Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins during a January vote following a public hearing. “We really are between a rock and a hard spot: if we vote this down, we still have to do it, we just get fined up to $10,000 a day if we refuse to do it.”
Councilman Bret Daniels, who voted no on the increase, referenced the Boston Tea Party and suggested taking “garbage cans down to the capitol and dump ’em out and tell them ‘No, we’re not doing it.’”
According to the city, the new program has required Republic Services to hire three additional drivers, a part-time auditor, three vehicles, customer outreach and education, material processing, and administration costs. The increased service is expected to cost the city an estimated $2 million annually, which will be passed along to residents through increased service costs.
Poole said residents can expect additional information by direct mail and door hangers beginning in late June and extending through July. Ongoing information will also be circulated on social media.
More information is available from CalRecycle or from the city’s website.
By Mike Hazlip—
The Fourth of July is a day to celebrate freedom, but in Citrus Heights it's also the date when residents and businesses will be required to start complying with a new state-mandated organics waste recycling program.
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