San Diego is preparing to launch a $1.1 million study to determine how much the city should start charging single-family homes for trash pickup, how to subsidize pickup for low-income families and how to reward people for producing less trash. Preparations for the study come six months after city voters narrowly approved Measure B, which amends a 1919 law called the People’s Ordinance that had prohibited the city from charging for trash pickup at single-family homes.
City officials say they expect the study to take more than two years because of its complexity, which will include proposing a rate structure and a billing system and recommending the addition of services such as regular pickups for bulky trash and hazardous waste. “We’re starting from scratch and there are a lot of variables — there could be a lot of alternatives,” said Councilmember Joe LaCava, who spearheaded the ballot measure along with Council President Sean Elo-Rivera.
Perhaps the largest challenge will be designing a “pay-as-you-throw” program that would mean lower bills for people who produce less trash and higher bills for those who produce the most trash. Being allowed to start charging for trash service at single-family homes, which costs San Diego nearly $80 million a year, will be an annual boon to the city budget and allow higher spending on other priorities.