After nearly 50 years, South Santa Clara County residents could
have a new garbage pickup service provider starting Oct. 1, and
that service will likely be more expensive.
Morgan Hill
After nearly 50 years, South Santa Clara County residents could have a new garbage pickup service provider starting Oct. 1, and that service will likely be more expensive.
The county will soon decide whether to continue contracting for trash and recycling pickup with South Valley Disposal, who has provided service for the unincorporated region’s 4,000 customers since the 1950s, or to accept a proposal with higher rates from GreenWaste Recovery.
Officials from the county’s Integrated Waste Management division say the new proposal maximizes the goal of increased recycling, is more convenient for residents, and makes service levels consistent countywide. However, some South County residents say they have been pleased with the existing level of service and the county should raise monthly rates as little as possible in the current economic situation that is pinching everybody’s wallet.
County staff encourage South County residents to attend a community meeting tonight at the San Martin Lion’s Club, 12415 Murphy Ave. in San Martin, at 7 p.m., to offer their input and opinions on the possible changes.
SCC Director of Agriculture and Environmental Management Greg Van Wassenhove said the board of supervisors will consider the choice between two proposals at its March 24 meeting.
Until then, staff in his department recommend accepting the proposal from GreenWaste Recovery. The average monthly household rate for garbage pickup under that suggestion would increase from the current price of $22.90 to $25.85 to empty a 32-gallon container, with the cost rising proportionally for residents who use larger containers.
That’s about a 13 percent increase, and South Valley Disposal has proposed increasing rates by about 4 percent, to $23.92 per month for the most commonly used 32-gallon container, according to the company’s general manager Phil Couchee.
The current contract with South Valley Disposal expires Sept. 30.
The proposal from GreenWaste Recovery offers additional services that are not available under South Valley Disposal’s option, Van Wassenhove said. One of those is the offer to customers of a 96-gallon cart to store green waste such as yard trimmings on the curb for weekly pickup. Now, residents are given vouchers to haul their own green waste to landfills at no cost, and that would continue under South Valley Disposal’s plan.
Also, the proposal recommended by county staff would offer a smaller 20-gallon container for garbage that South Valley Disposal would not offer, at a lower cost of $19.39 per month.
Furthermore, both companies have offered to switch to “single-stream” recycling, which allows residents to place all their recyclable trash into a single container, rather than separate it into multiple bins as they now do. Under the recommended proposal, recyclables would be picked up weekly rather than every other week as the current hauler provides.
GreenWaste would also offer curbside battery pickup, and conduct periodic “neighborhood cleanups” in South County, both of which are also new services, according to Van Wassenhove.
Residents are and will continue to be charged only for the amount of garbage picked up at their house. Recycling and yard waste containers do not count as garbage, and therefore the new practices encourage recycling and make it easier, staff said.
“Part of our mission is to meet state mandated diversion rates,” said Van Wassenhove. “The county is required to divert 50 percent of its waste to recycling and green waste,” and out of landfills.
The county conducted a survey among the 4,000 customers who would be affected by these changes, and IWM spokesman Zachary Devine said about two-thirds of those responding preferred weekly pickup of yard waste rather than the voucher system.
San Martin resident Sylvia Hamilton said she didn’t receive the survey until after the date it was due back to the county on Feb. 16, and she has been well-served by South Valley Disposal. However, her biggest complaint is the proposed price increase.
“When the economy has settled down a bit, people in the community will probably want to look at this,” Hamilton said. “But with the economy as horrible as it is, I think the people in the county need help, and now is not the time to raise rates.”
