Residents will receive a 20% rate increase to their solid waste and recycling fees over the next year, as the Long Beach city council moved unanimously to approve the increase Tuesday night. 

The rate increase, which will be implemented in at least two phases, is the first recycling and waste fee increase in the city since 2019. The first step of the increase will take place on September 1 and will amount to an $11.09 bump for a single-family household.

Increases are dependent on household and trash bin size. 

Dikran Melkonian, deputy director of public works, cited a number of reasons for the increase, most importantly the need to comply with California mandates. Staff also reported a $1,433,176 liability insurance increase, a $4,135,216 fleet cost increase, a $893,228 increase in technology and innovation as well as a 147% debt increase for the city’s waste department since the start of the pandemic. 

City staff pointed out that Long Beach is not in compliance with the state’s most recent mandate, AB 1383, which establishes targets for cities in California to reduce their organic waste emissions by 50% by diverting organic materials away from landfills.

Melkonian said that when passing the bill, the state was clear that, “to fund this program is to pass the cost onto the ratepayers.”

Another reason cited for the increase was the waste department’s yearslong steady deficit in their funding reserves. The city’s refuse department currently has $8-9 million in their reserves, equivalent to one month’s worth of emergency funds, according to Melkonian. He said the department likes to have four months of operating surplus in their fund. 

Councilmember Suzie Price asked the city staff if they would consider putting off the rate increase or adding more tiers to slowly introduce the increases. Melkonian responded that putting off the increase would only mean steeper rates in the future, since it would cause the department to fall into a deficit by the end of the year. 

“I will begrudgingly support this item, I know it will affect people, but we have a mandate from the state. Our hands are really tied here if we don’t move these rates.”

In order to comply with state mandates—and avoid fines—the city’s refuse department will begin providing organic waste collections for city commercial accounts early next year, will hire eight new positions focusing on administrative, enforcement and education efforts, and will implement a food recovery program to reduce food waste.

Factors that are not included in the current rate increase are organic waste collection for residential homes, which includes the operational costs of adding more trucks, bins and staff, the implementation of new collection routes and the need for more property to house added staff and vehicles. 

Long Beach currently has one of the lowest residential waste and recycling rates per household in Los Angeles County. According to city staff reports, the current rate for a single-family home with a 64-gallon trash bin is $24.47, while the cost of service for the city is $27.36. The rate for a single-family home using a 96-gallon trash bin is $28.99, while the cost of service is $36.03.

Even after the increase, Long Beach’s rates will be lower than Pasadena ($40.99), Santa Monica ($53.90) and Burbank ($55.03), but higher than Anaheim ($24.50) and Torrance ($35.31). Melkonian also pointed out that cities like Oakland and San Jose, whose rates are a staggering $144-148, already include services such as residential organic waste disposal.

The original motion proposed by staff was a two-tier rate increase system—the first half beginning on Sept. 1 and the second increase taking place on Jan. 1, 2023, for a total increase of 40%. 

A friendly amendment by councilmember Al Austin moved to implement the first increase, but asked city staff to return to the council in January to discuss the possibility of stretching out the remaining proposed increase. 

“I will begrudgingly support this item, I know it will affect people, but we have a mandate from the state,” Austin said. “Our hands are really tied here if we don’t move these rates.”

Staff will also report to the council on other ways to increase the city’s refuse budget that does not involve rate increases. Councilmember Stacey Mungo moved to support the friendly amendment, and pointed out that the city would not have to increase rates if state mandates took into account alternative methods of waste disposal. 

Long Beach moved away from using trucks to dump trash into landfills in the late 1980s, and has used a Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF) to “reduce the amount of waste to be managed and to reduce the consumption of natural resources,” according to the city’s website. 

SERFF utilizes a furnace, boiler, dry scrubber and generator to incinerate waste, heat up the boilers and produce energy.

Two environmental advocacy groups in California have been calling for the closure of SERRF in Long Beachalong with the one other incineration facility in the state. The groups, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Valley Improvement Projects, cited air pollution, costs of outdated equipment and “150,000 tons of toxic ash” as a few reasons for removal.

Mungo asked Malkonian if Long Beach could continue to use this method, claiming “it’s actually a more environmentally friendly way to get rid of trash.” Malkonian explained that although SERFF will not be outlawed, the state will make it “increasingly difficult” to utilize SERRF. 

“Increasing rates for anyone right now is a very difficult thing to do,” Mungo said. “I’m not supportive of what the state is doing … a one size fits all approach is just not working.” 

Malkonian said that the city is working with various departments to see if it would be possible to “enhance SERRF to be able to process organic material as well.”

Mungo also urged city staff to inform residents that they can switch out their trash bins to smaller sizes, decreasing their monthly rates. Malkonian also acknowledged that there will likely be another increase once residential organic waste is implemented, since it will require another bin for each home. 

She also urged the city to consider passing “smaller, fragmented” increases of around 3 to 5% each year, rather than a 20% increase every couple of years. 

The City also shared that they have been facing challenges hiring drivers to collect waste and recycling throughout Long Beach. Malkonian cited competing companies such as FedEx and Amazon, who are able to offer higher pay to certified Class B drivers. There are also supply chain issues impacting their ability to attain new trucks and trash carts. 

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