Palmdale Trash Fee Rises Again, but City Will Collect Less Garbage

Palmdale residents will soon face a $1.90-a-month increase in their trash collection fee--from $9.60 to $11.50--and a reduction in the amount of garbage the city will collect.

The nearly 20% rate increase for residential customers of Palmdale Disposal Co. was approved 5 to 0 by the City Council on Tuesday night, 19 months after the city granted the company a 26% rate increase for its weekly service, from $7.60 to the current $9.60 a month.

City officials said the latest rate increase is meant to pay for the company’s plan to provide each household it serves with a 90-gallon wheeled plastic trash can and collect only the refuse that fits in it each week.

Residents now are free to use their own multiple trash cans, bags or both.

The 90-gallon cans equal nearly three regular-size trash cans.

A city staff report said the new single-can restriction is intended to limit the amount of garbage going into the company’s Antelope Valley Public Dump in Palmdale, which has been filling rapidly because of the city’s growth to about 78,000 people.

“Because of the increasing limitations on the amount of garbage which can be placed in the Palmdale landfill, strict daily tonnage limits have been implemented on the landfill, thus restricting the amount of residential waste which can be dumped,” the city report said.

Steve Williams, Palmdale’s public works director, said the company plans to phase in delivery of the new trash cans and the rate increase over several months.

The city staff report said the rate increase will earn the company an additional $356,592 annually.

City officials said the new $11.50-a-month trash fee keeps Palmdale’s rate in line with other areas, including a countywide average of about $11 a month.

With the new rate, it will take the company about five years to recoup the cost of switching to the new cans, the city report said.

The company figures it will cost $97.50 per household to provide the new cans, equip the company’s garbage trucks to work with them, and cover the cans for residents with a lifetime replacement warranty.