The Board of Supervisors approved another trash rate increase for much of West Marin this week, the second of a three-part hike agreed on when the San Francisco-based company Recology took over the franchise agreement for the area last December.
Residents will see bills rise by 6.11 percent starting Jan. 1. For a 20-gallon residential trash bin, now $25.64 per month, that translates to an increase of $1.57. The rate increase, which does not cover Bolinas and Stinson Beach—they have separate agreements with Recology—follows a rate increase of 12.1 percent implemented in April and precedes another planned for next July.
Recology’s predecessor—The Ratto Group, which had serviced West Marin, Novato and much of Sonoma County since 2008—had not increased rates since 2015, even to account for inflation. The group had proposed a 45-percent increase last year but withdrew it before selling to Recology.
In its franchise agreement with the county, Recology outlined the three-staged hike, citing higher operation and labor costs and the need to fulfill contractual obligations with the county that were not being met at that time.
Fred Stemmler, general manager of Recology Sonoma Marin, said the most recent increase was calculated through the refuse rate index, which accounts for the increased cost of labor, fuel, vehicle maintenance and replacement. In the greatest change recorded by the index, fuel costs rose by nearly 40 percent between last fall and July. Labor costs increased by nearly 30 percent.
In April, Recology adjusted prices based on a different calculation, the consumer price index.
Mr. Stemmler told the Light at that time that the 8.8-percent increase covered C.P.I. adjustments for the past three years that were not made by Ratto along with “inflationary expenses such as fuel, oil, parts, equipment and capital purchases as well as labor. Operating a safe fleet requires a lot of maintenance and upkeep, and we have seen a considerable amount of deferred work since we took things over.”
The remaining 3.3 percent from the April increase—a regulatory compliance fee—now goes directly to county coffers to fund efforts to comply with three new state laws governing waste, recycling and greenhouse-gas emissions.
Mr. Stemmler said that after next July, Recology will apply for an increase every January. There is also a possibility of additional increases to account for new services.
Indeed, the company already has changes planned for West Marin, an area that presented Recology with a steep learning curve. This summer, the company conducted an audit of West Marin routes, prompted in part by reports of collection drivers mixing recycling and trash. Only smaller trucks can navigate the more difficult terrain of many local roads, and those vehicles are outfitted with just one compartment, requiring drivers to make two trips. Though Recology representatives have made clear that they do not condone the practice, some drivers were combining just to get through the day.
This month, Mr. Stemmler said three new commercial routes will be added in West Marin and Novato. And that’s just a start: In the coming months, Mr. Stemmler plans to add as many as 20 new routes throughout the Marin and Sonoma service area, though he wasn’t sure yet how many were for West Marin specifically.
The company took 30 percent of the fleet it inherited from Ratto off the road because those vehicles were out of compliance—a fact that Mr. Stemmler said may have caused the quality of service to waver in recent months.
Overall, however, Recology has thus far largely shielded West Marin customers from recent global shifts that have affected the company, which has seen its total revenue drop 5 or 10 percent. Part of a broad antipollution campaign, China, which previously recycled about half of the globe’s plastic and paper products, greatly tightened standards for what it accepts. In the recycling bails Recology prepares to go overseas, which are typically 1 to 2 tons, the level of allowable contamination shifted from 5 percent to 0.5 percent contamination. “And they check,” Mr. Stemmler said.
The company has doubled the number of sorters at its Santa Rosa recycling plant—there are now two consecutive eight-hour shifts a day, six days a week.
Recology has historically shipped about 60 percent of its recyclables to China, where those goods are processed and resold. The other 40 percent is processed domestically or in other countries. Compared to the beginning of the year, when the company saw a huge build-up of material it could not move, Mr. Stemmler said it is now just a slow trickle.
Still, he urged residents to be more diligent when tossing items into recycling bins. Food residues often cause trouble. Pizza boxes? Put them in the compost, he said; the grease is a contaminant. Paint or other household chemicals are other common contaminants.
“Recycling as a commodity is becoming very difficult to move,” Mr. Stemmler said. “It’s a huge issue. But it hasn’t failed.”