Los Angeles County to Establish Trash Hauling Monopoly for Unincorporated Areas
Exclusive Franchise System Will Apply to Multifamily Properties with 5 Units or More
At the Tuesday, August 2nd Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting, Board Supervisors will vote to authorize the County’s Department of Public Works to award eight exclusive commercial franchise contracts for solid waste collection services including refuse, recyclables, and organics (in compliance with Senate Bill 1383), agenda item 25.
The new exclusive franchise system would apply to the County’s unincorporated areas with the exception of the North County (Acton, Antelope Valley, and Agua Dulce) and the Garbage Disposal Districts and would establish eight service areas with one designated exclusive waste hauler per area.
Commercial customers and multifamily property owners that would be subject to the new franchise hauler system include multifamily complexes with 5 units or more and certain single-family residences that request dumpster services. The eight waste haulers selected by the County include: American Reclamation for Foothills Service Area; Valley Vista Services for Gateway, Puente Hills, and San Gabriel Valley East Service Areas; Ware Disposal for San Gabriel Valley West Service Area; Waste Management (USA Waste of California) for Santa Clarita and South Bay Service Areas; and Waste Management (GI Industries) for Westside Service Area. The contracts are for a ten-year term with three 3-year renewal terms.
Among the County’s objectives in transitioning to an exclusive commercial franchise system is to facilitate the County’s compliance with the new state law requirements, enhance oversight related to services and rates and provide quality customer service.
The Association is not supportive of a monopoly franchise scheme and believe customers must have the option to select from a minimum of two companies. Generally, the contract provisions include safeguards to facilitate service standards and equitable rates.
We reached out to the County’s Public Works staff and will continue to engage with the Department, if the contacts are awarded, and moving forward throughout the transition and implementation period to facilitate community education and outreach and to discuss any issues identified. It is anticipated that, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, the new franchise system would be rolled out this Fall, as early as October 2022.
We encourage members to review the Board motion and related details of the proposed new exclusive franchise system. It is uncertain at this time how much the rates will change for individual customers.