Changing a dump site for Milpitas’ garbage from Waste Management Inc.’s Guadalupe Recycling and Disposal Facility in San Jose’s Almaden Valley neighborhood to the company’s Kirby Canyon Recycling and Disposal Facility on the San Jose-Morgan Hill border will cost the city $1.2 million.
Milpitas City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to amend the city’s solid waste agreement with Waste Management to name Kirby Canyon as the landfill of choice and also to amend the collections contract with Garden City Sanitation Inc. to name Kirby Canyon instead of Guadalupe as the destination for material that cannot be recycled.
The council’s action means the cost for the change in disposal sites, after negotiations for use of the Sunnyvale SMaRT Station did not result in a lower price for residents, will be passed on in the form of rate increases ranging between 12 to 18 percent to commercial customers.
Milpitas residents’ garbage rates and waste disposal services will not be impacted by this change, according to City Manager Tom Williams.
Prior to its vote, Williams told the council that the city had looked at an alternative to Guadalupe landfill to avoid litigation with the City of San Jose.
Almaden residents, whose homes are near the Guadalupe landfill, raised a stink about having Milpitas’ garbage come into their neighborhood.
Kirby Canyon on the other hand, while six miles further from Milpitas, is not located near residences or businesses that might be affected by the landfill.
Williams explained the cost increase was caused by two factors: the additional distance and a clause in Waste Management’s contract that does not allow it to give new customers a lower rate, as it must be the same as what other cities are paying.
The city manager told the council that under the current rates with Republic Services of Santa Clara County, residential rates subsidize commercial rates.
“Under the new contract we corrected that problem because we received such a good deal on the per ton rate at Guadalupe that the commercial rates were still lower compared to surrounding communities,” Williams said. “By moving to Kirby there is still room to keep the commercial rates on par with others in the area. If we were to raise the residential rates then the residential rates would start to subsidize the commercial again.”
Councilman Anthony Phan, who requested the item be pulled off the consent calendar for discussion, said he was against raising the rates at all. After saying the city could have avoided having to pay the additional funds, Phan said he would “reluctantly support” the amendment.
Others like Vice Mayor Marsha Grilli favored the change.
“The reason we are going to go to Kirby is we are trying to work collaboratively with our neighbors, San Jose. And this is a way to avoid litigation,” Grilli said at the meeting. “We should also look at the fact that Kirby is far from any housing, that is important as we are moving forward with our relationship, so I’m really happy we brought this forward.”
To read the full story, visit http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/24/milpitas-council-approves-1-2-million-increase-in-garbage-rates-to-businesses/.