Community Corner
Why San Diego Wants Voters To Undo Free Trash Pickup
The City Council wants to test whether the will of the people has changed with a new ballot measure.
March 18, 2022
This post originally appeared in the March 18 Morning Report. Subscribe here for free.
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Over half of homes in the city of San Diego get free trash pickup, a right installed by San Diegan voters in 1919 called the People’s Ordinance.
But apartment buildings, businesses and any home not on a public street have to pay for private trash pickup.
Find out what's happening in San Diegofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Now the San Diego City Council wants to test whether the will of the people has changed with a new ballot measure slated for this November. It would allow the city to charge trash pickup fees to homes currently getting free city trash collection — and perhaps in the future reap funds that other municipalities count on to pay for things like public safety and infrastructure.
The City Council Rules Committee voted Wednesday to start drafting that ballot measure, according to reporting by KPBS. Taxpayers currently pay for free trash pickup to the tune of $43.2 million this fiscal year. Come 2027, if the People’s Ordinance remains intact, that cost could inflate to about $75 million, auditors predict.
That cost will skyrocket in the coming years as cities across California begin to institute mandatory food recycling collection to help cut down on the production of planet-warming methane in landfills. The city of San Diego is expected to build a new organics recycling facility at a cost of at least $50 million. Plus, the city has already spent millions in the current city budget to order 43 new sanitation trucks, hundreds of thousands of green organic waste carts and hire another 40 sanitation workers.
Lisa Halverstadt and Scott Lewis contributed to this reporting.
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