After nearly three decades, Laguna Beach will have a new vendor picking up trash, recyclables and green waste around town, with periodic opportunities to dispose of bulk and hazardous waste during the year.
Starting in a week, CR&R will replace Waste Management as the city’s new service. Last year, the City Council voted 3-2 to opt for the new vendor. At the time, Councilmembers Alex Rounaghi and Mark Orgill opposed the switch.
Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempf said the transition saves city residents and businesses more than $1.7 million with all the services being provided by CR&R and she believes trash pickup with the new provider will go smoothly starting on July 1.
A key difference in the new contract, which is for eight years with an option to add two additional years, is that residents will now be billed quarterly instead of paying for trash service as part of their property tax bill.
In the past, a single-family home was billed $329.58 per year on its annual property tax bill. Now, CR&R will bill the residents directly and charge $27.25 a month – billed quarterly – if the customer selects the largest of three available trash bin sizes – which Liz Avila, senior public works analyst for the city, said most residents use. Smaller bins cost slightly less.
Residents can also choose from three-sized recycling and organic bins, and will get one of each.
CR&R mailed each resident in Laguna Beach in March, informing them of how payment for trash pickup will be handled.
“The communication has been good,” Kempf said, commending the trash hauler on its outreach. “We’ve also been putting out a lot of information.”
Last week, CR&R officials held two town halls for residents to learn more about the details. They’ve also sent multiple mailers with FAQs and created a video about the transition.
The city also created its own site for the transition; city officials said the web page had generated 26,663 views.
Kempf attended a town hall on Saturday and said about 40 people were there – about the same number as the previous event a few days earlier.
Many at the town hall had detailed questions about recycling, replacing Waste Management’s bins with the new ones, the new billing system, and concerns about drivers navigating the city’s steep hills and narrow streets. Others wondered how the city was getting enhanced services from CR&R while paying less. Some were sad to see the longtime drivers go, and others who’ve gone through the city’s design process and have constructed storage areas for their bins said they worried that new sizes from CR&R may not fit.
The CR&R contract includes more bulk and hazardous waste pickups, an unlimited number of needle mail backs, and a plan to bring in an electric vehicle in 2025. There will also be a smaller vehicle that can serve narrow and steep streets – it can simultaneously pick up and sort trash and recyclables. There will also be two dedicated recycling coordinators that can advise residents and business owners to ensure recycling goes smoothly.
Due to a state law, CR&R had to offer jobs to Waste Management’s drivers affected by the contract. However, Waste Management has told the city that it will keep all of its drivers from the Laguna Beach routes employed.
For the last month, CR&R drivers have been shadowing Waste Management drivers to learn the four commercial and nine residential routes. Waste Management has also shared route maps with the new hauler to help with a more seamless changeover, officials said.
“We’ve been meeting bi-weekly with the entire team since last July’s council meeting,” Avila said.
“The biggest thing has been transferring the data for all our customers,” she said, adding that step is complete now.
Despite the Waste Management drivers not coming aboard, she said CR&R will send its most experienced drivers to the city, many of whom have a decade or more behind the wheel of a trash truck.
“CR&R brings a high level of experience,” Avila said, adding the company services Catalina Island and 17 other Orange County cities. “They have experience navigating through high traffic during the summer.”
When CR&R takes over next week, Avila said every cart out with trash will be picked up.
“CR&R worked very closely with Waste Management,” Avila said. “When the rollout starts, the carts will be removed by CR&R and the new ones will be dropped off. It will go neighborhood by neighborhood.
“CR&R has a lot of experience in transitioning cities,” Avila added. “If they get a bin they don’t want, they can call CR&R and schedule an exchange.”
