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[Tripon]

El Sereno resident Scott Toland is another unhappy customer of L.A.'s new refuse and recycling program.

Toland recently learned that the monthly trash bill at the 10-unit condominium complex where he lives could double — at a minimum. And that's only if his homeowner association cuts back on regular trash pickup.

The reason? An assortment of extra fees, all backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council as part of RecycLA.

Universal Waste Systems, the neighborhood's designated refuse hauler, sent Toland an estimate indicating the company would charge $43.30 a month to open the gate to the complex, which requires a remote control clicker, for the property's regular trash.

The company added the same $43.30 ”access charge" for recycling pickup. And it tacked on $303 in monthly ”distance charges," which compensate a hauler for moving trash bins across the parking lot to the street, where they are emptied.

”No other trash company has ever charged us to open the gate or drive down the driveway, ever. So I think that's outrageous," said Toland, who recently created a video highlighting the extra fees.

Businesses, landlords and condominium owners are voicing alarm over the additional charges being imposed under RecycLA, an environmental initiative championed by Garcetti that is aimed at diverting trash from landfills, putting cleaner-burning trash trucks on the street and creating safer conditions for refuse workers.

The price of the new program is based on the frequency of pickup, the number of refuse bins and the size of those containers. But companies are also allowed to charge extra to open a locked gate with a keypad or to move trash bins more than 100 feet or 200 feet.

The council awarded seven companies the exclusive right to haul away refuse in specific sections of the city — 10-year contracts valued at $3.5 billion. The program covers an estimated 80,000 customers and is expected to generate $15.6 million this year for the city's general fund, which pays for basic services.

The 10-month transition to new trash haulers has been bumpy so far, with customers across the city complaining about missed pickup and significantly higher bills.

Last week, Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said businesses in his district have been expressing panic over the changes. And Councilman Mike Bonin recently criticized the program's implementation, saying it's ”proving to be as unpopular as the botched rollout of a new billing system at the Department of Water and Power."

In Toland's case, a representative from Universal Waste Systems visited the El Sereno property and provided four written cost scenarios — all of them showing big increases.

The least expensive proposal would take the monthly bill from $303 to $622. Another estimate, which included a can for green waste, would triple the monthly bill. And yet another, which would keep the same number of regular trash pickups, would bump the bill up to $1,185.

Under one pricing scenario, Bougainvillea Townhomes would see its monthly bill jump from $509 to $1,350, according to an email Athens sent to Cohen. That increase, Cohen said, assumes that the frequency of pickup would be reduced for one of the property's two regular trash bins.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trash-bills-los-angeles-20170820-story.html

This is some rent-seeking bullshit from the Trash companies in L.A.

If you live in L.A. proper and live in a condo/apartment, prepare to get fucked over by higher trash bills.

 

[Ogodei]

Geez, i feel lucky. At my place we have a mandatory $15/mo trash pickup fee that i gripe about (it goes door-to-door, but only for trash, and i put out way more recycling).

 

[HORRORSHØW]

That's garbage

 

[Wolfe]

Jesus christ, that sounds absurd.

 

[UltraJay]

It is hard for me to have much sympathy when they don't even carry their bins to the curb. If we don't do that, or trash doesn't get picked up, period.

"Access fee" is bullshit, though.

 

[Dyle]

No wonder its so expensive, NASA is shooting the garbage they pick up into space! That's insane, awarding so many companies so many local monopolies seems like a horrible idea that could only benefit the trash companies while damaging customer service

 

[Black Mamba]

It is hard for me to have much sympathy when they don't even carry their bins to the curb. If we don't do that, or trash doesn't get picked up, period.

"Access fee" is bullshit, though.

These aren't trash cans, these are large dumpsters in which a trash chute usually is where the trash is dumped into them.


Trash companies are the ones who have to move them.

 

[Cyanity]

I'm so glad I don't live in LA right now.

 

[Wolfe]

It is hard for me to have much sympathy when they don't even carry their bins to the curb. If we don't do that, or trash doesn't get picked up, period.

"Access fee" is bullshit, though.

That's likely just referencing apt complexes and condos, places with shared dumpsters that the tenets fill with their personal garbage/recycling. The garbage company then comes in and empties those bins with their trucks. They're charging them to open the gate themselves (with a code obviously), drive inside the property, and empty the bins, which is what they've always done in the past.

 

[kirblar]

Explicitly disallowing competition leads to companies abusing the system?

I'm shocked.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I can't figure out if CA is the best or worst state sometimes

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Explicitly disallowing competition leads to companies abusing the system?

I'm shocked.

I'd be looking into the finances of whomever awarded these contracts for anything that looked like a kickback.

I mea, if I were the sort of person paid to investigate these sort of things.

 

[scitek]

Is it $300-$1200/month for the complex, then divided among the tenants? Or $300-$1200/month per apartment?

 

[Tripon]

Is it $300-$1200/month for the complex, then divided among the tenants? Or $300-$1200/month per apartment?

For the Complex. It depends about how many apartments and dumpsters an complex has.

 

[Previous]

Your trash company in LA is determined by location? Complexes can't shop around for cheaper prices? wtf

 

[AoM]

 

[shawnbuddy]

In my county it's paid for through taxes. They had to put this in place in the 80s because people were just not paying the bill and dumping at illegal dumps or burning. It's a very poor county.

 

[Hispanic! At the Disco]

Never thought id see my hometown's name here on gaf usually if for some reason something actually happens in El Sereno, its just "Los Angeles".

That being said, this is stupid, and sucks as theres already issues with trash pick up not being 100% consistent in the area as they like to think up any excuse not to pick up your trash. Probably because the streets are so narrow and steep, but its their job!

 

[Dead Man]

Explicitly disallowing competition leads to companies abusing the system?

I'm shocked.

Indeed.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Now that's what I call a dumpster fire

 

[D i Z]

Sigh.

 

[Allforce]

I know this is more about the shitty business practices of the city but what price can you actually put on someone coming each week and hauling all your disgusting trash away from your house? I'm surprised it's not a LOT more in line with this story only nationwide. I pay 45 bucks every 3 months for recycling (that we don't have to sort), regular trash, and any kind of curbside pickup any week. I can put a freaking sectional sofa out there on Thursday night and it's gone by 10 AM on Friday.

I'd probably be ok with up to 100 bucks a month for that service in the most extreme case.

 

[killertofu]

Just moved to LA a few months ago and honestly this place smells like garbage half the time. Pick up after yourselves, damn.

 

[AstroNut325]

Just moved to LA a few months ago and honestly this place smells like garbage half the time. Pick up after yourselves, damn.

LA is a big city. It's not like that where I live.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

The city doesn't have its own trash collection paid for by our taxes?

 

[sixteen-bit]

The trash fees are too damn high

 

[numble]

Explicitly disallowing competition leads to companies abusing the system?

I'm shocked.

Indeed.

The OP did a selective copy and paste job, read the full article and look further into the reasons for the higher charges.

These fees are all set by the government:
https://www.lacitysan.org/san/sandocview?docname=cnt019650

You can eliminate the extra charges (which are also set by the government) but that wouldn't solve the main "problem" which is that the higher charges are by design. The aim is to reduce landfill usage by 90% by charging higher fees for trash bins and giving reduced and discounted fees for recycling and fewer trash pickups, they also require the companies to use clean-fuel vehicles and sort the trash to reduce the amount of trash that goes to landfills. Look at how a recycling bin is cheaper than a trash bin and extra recycling bins are free but they will charge you more the more trash you have. The government basically requires the companies to subsidize recycling (the free market would not charge you less for a recycling bin and give you extra recycling bins for free) and more sustainable trucks/facilities with higher trash fees.

http://www.wastedive.com/news/5-que...os-angeless-potential-franchising-sys/427184/

A key part of the system is that haulers have agreed to invest a collective $200 million in collection and processing infrastructure. Clean fuel requirements mandate that all vehicles must use compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

...

On the processing side, the seven companies have contractually agreed to make a wide range of facility improvements. This includes upgrades to existing facilities, addition of organics pre-processing equipment, the construction of new material recovery facilities and more.

In a truly open market system, you need to get rid of all those regulations, which would defeat the environmentally-friendly purpose of the regulations.

In a regulated open market system, it may be difficult to police adherence to the rules, and you can't get the same environmentally-friendly efficiency with multiple companies with dump trucks on the street every day and running separate processing facilities. But if you have the rates subject to the free market, it would be actually be counterproductive to the goal of reducing trash and increasing recycling.

Yes, maybe you can find some theoretical ideal balance with an open market and regulations, but to get it to accomplish the goals of the government, it may not look very different from what we already see with the program, except more regulation regarding those additional charges.

 

[snacknuts]

I was in LA last month for the second time in my life. That place is filthy. It looks like everyone just dumps their trash in the street anyway.

 

[Tripon]

The OP did a selective copy and paste job, read the full article and look further into the reasons for the higher charges.

These fees are all set by the government:
https://www.lacitysan.org/san/sandocview?docname=cnt019650

You can eliminate the extra charges (which are also set by the government) but that wouldn't solve the main "problem" which is that the higher charges are by design. The aim is to reduce landfill usage by 90% by charging higher fees for trash bins and giving reduced and discounted fees for recycling and fewer trash pickups, they also require the companies to use clean-fuel vehicles and sort the trash to reduce the amount of trash that goes to landfills. Look at how a recycling bin is cheaper than a trash bin and extra recycling bins are free but they will charge you more the more trash you have. The government basically requires the companies to subsidize recycling (the free market would not charge you less for a recycling bin and give you extra recycling bins for free) and more sustainable trucks/facilities with higher trash fees.

http://www.wastedive.com/news/5-que...os-angeless-potential-franchising-sys/427184/


In a truly open market system, you need to get rid of all those regulations, which would defeat the environmentally-friendly purpose of the regulations.

In a regulated open market system, it may be difficult to police adherence to the rules, and you can't get the same environmentally-friendly efficiency with multiple companies with dump trucks on the street every day and running separate processing facilities. But if you have the rates subject to the free market, it would be actually be counterproductive to the goal of reducing trash and increasing recycling.

Yes, maybe you can find some theoretical ideal balance with an open market and regulations, but to get it to accomplish the goals of the government, it may not look very different from what we already see with the program, except more regulation regarding those additional charges.

Yeah, the city is just as much to blame for this bullshit. You're going to have a lot of angry ratepayers and I'm going to vote somebody out on this shit.