The city of San Diego is sending out mailers about waste management — but they're not to be thrown in the garbage. They have important information about trash service.
Last month, the city approved a historic and controversial new trash fee for residents living in single-family homes or in multifamily developments with four or fewer units. Previously, the city did not charge for the service.
The mailer explains what it will cost, how it will be billed and the choices residents have for new trash bins.
This week, the City Council approved the contracts to replace trash and recycling bins across San Diego. It will cost nearly $65 million, which will be spread out over the next 10 years to customer bills.
“Around 75% of the deployed containers are 20 years old or beyond,” said Jeremy Bauer of the city’s Environmental Services Department.
He said the new bins are needed.
“These containers are warrantied for about 10 years so they're largely well beyond their useful life. Meaning they're subject to breakage, they're old, they're brittle,” Bauer said.
The department’s assistant director said the move to buy 750,000 bins is part of upgrading service as San Diego implements its first-ever trash pickup fee.
The changes include updated size options, colors and some new technology.
“All of the new containers are deployed with Radio Frequency Identification readers,” Bauer said. “That's a technology we're currently piloting and that will allow us, as we’re collecting, to detect when a container is picked up — so that we can collect that data over time.”
On Monday the council approved the replacement program 6-3.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert was opposed.
“It's simply way too high,” she said of the costs. “I'm not going to support this today, and I'm very sad we're doing this.”
The new trash fee started July 1 and will show up on property tax bills.
While fees for organics and recycling bins are set no matter the size of the bin, customers have options when it comes to trash.
It’s $43.60 a month for the standard 95-gallon container, but there are smaller sizes at a lesser cost.
“Those that select a 35-gallon trash container or 65-gallon trash container, they'll pay a lower fee and we expect many customers to take advantage of that,” Bauer said.
The 65-gallon trash can option will cost $38.94 per month. The 35-gallon trash can option will cost $32.82 monthly. Prices will increase over time.
Customers can choose their trash bin size on a new city website.
“The website is now live but we are inviting folks to wait until they receive their mailer to login,” Bauer said. “That's because the mailer includes a unique code they'll need in order to login and create their account.”
Bauer said mailers will be sent out until the end of July.
Residents need to make a choice by the end of September. If they don't, they'll automatically be enrolled for the largest size bins, at the highest cost.
Bauer said the city will start delivering the new bins and collecting the old ones in October. Deliveries are expected to continue through June 2026.
