SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Sacramento city leaders agreed to increase residents’ waste disposal rates for the next three years.
On average, city officials said they expect monthly waste bills to go up by $3.83 each year for the next three years, or a total of $11.49 by 2024. Bills will start reflecting the fee increase April 1.
“I mean, $10 isn’t nothing, and every family is different. But I am glad that the system is being implemented and, hopefully, once budgets adjust everybody can kind of benefit from it in the long run,” said resident Ava Bindas.
Wednesday’s release says the unanimous vote by the Sacramento City Council was in direct response to Senate Bill 1383, which was signed by the governor in 2016. The legislation requires that California cities start collecting food waste from citizens.
The goal is to divert 75% of organic waste from landfills and turn it into compost that can be used agriculturally.
“Composting food waste will help the City meet its climate change goals by diverting organic material that emits methane when buried in landfills,” the release reads. “The City estimates that organic waste composting will eliminate 31,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses annually.”
I need to get a little like smaller compost bin inside my house, but then it’ll be easier just to kind of bring my food scraps outside, dump them in the Big Bend every week and just take it out like I do my normal trash.
The program is set to start in July and food waste can be put into residents’ green waste, or yard waste, bins.
“We are going to be providing free compost bins — little, countertop compost bin — that’s 2 or 3 gallons,” said Jesa David, with the city of Sacramento’s Recycling and Solid Waste Department. “We will be giving that out to every resident who wants one.”
Compost created using residents’ food waste will be given to farmers, the city said.
On top of the composting program, Sacramento officials said the additional money will go toward ramping up street sweeping and junk collection, the latter of which will be opened up to tenants.
The city said Tuesday’s vote also reflected the amount of garbage people in Sacramento have produced during the pandemic, as well as the rise in labor costs and waste processing fees. In 2020, households increased their waste output by nearly 11%, city officials noted.
A financial assistance program is available for those whose incomes qualify.