State mandate spurs rise in garbage rates
City to raise them 7.6% this year and next to cover cost of complying with food waste order
ANTIOCH >> Residential garbage rates soon will increase by 7.6% twice — this year and next year — in a move by Antioch city leaders to comply with a new statewide mandate to decrease food waste in landfills.
Though Antioch residents can opt for four different-size bins, most have chosen the 32-gallon size and will see their rates go from $32.55 to $37.50 a month as soon as the program launches this summer.
Commercial users also will see new rates, with a 7.7% onetime hike under the plan the City Council approved Tuesday.
In comparison, Concord recently passed a garbage rate increase of 21.55%, and Oakley approved a 23.29% hike for residential rates in an effort to comply with the state mandate. For Concord, that meant a rate hike from $35.14 to $42.71 for a typical user with a 32-gallon bin, while in Oakley, residents' bills went from $38.24 a month to $47.14 for that same size bin.
“This is happening up and down across the state,” said Susan Hurl, business manager for Republic Services, the city's waste disposal service. “It's been arduous for city councils at this point in time to do these rate increases, but it is what it is and it's another state mandate.”
The new residential rates come on the heels of Senate Bill 1383, a law passed in 2016 to reduce methane emissions from decomposing organic waste, which contributes to global climate change. The state set a target of reducing organic waste in landfills by 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025.
The rate increases are needed to add food waste collection to the residential services that Republic Services provides, according to staffers.
In her report, Antioch's environmental resource coordinator Julie Haas-Wajdowicz offered four options for rate increases, ranging from 9.8% to 20.1% for residential service.
The rate options represent the city's efforts to comply with the mandatory organics program while keeping the rates as low as possible for Antioch, according to the report. All options include adding food waste to the residential green cart and directing the contents of those carts to a composting facility rather than a landfill.
Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock moved to approve the option for weekly compost collection with an additional two full-time employees as recommended by staffers. That option would have resulted in a 20.1%
rate hike for residents and 13.9% for businesses. The motion failed because of a lack of a second.
Mayor Lamar Thorpe backed a 15.2% rate hike, which Republic agreed to in exchange for a 3½-year contract extension. The contract had been set to expire in 2025.
The mayor asked that the rate increase be divided into two parts, one this year and one the next, to soften the financial blow to customers.
Antioch City Attorney Thomas Lloyd Smith cautioned that with that option, the contract with Republic Services would be extended through the end of 2028.
“What you are offering here is a lower rate but you have to stay with them (Republic Services),” Haas-Wajdowicz said, noting the city hasn't gone out to bid for garbage services since 1974. “You don't get to go out and compare other services providers in 2025 (when the contract expires).”
The council approved the 15.2% residential rate hike (divided into two years) and a 7.7% commercial rate increase via a 3-1-1 vote, with Councilwoman Monica Wilson objecting and Vice Mayor Mike Barbanica absent.
Haas-Wajdowicz later said no date has been set for the launch of the new residential program, though Republic Services has been offering commercial organics collection for months now.