Jan 29 2017
Backyard Waste Can Service is Being Questioned: City Wants Input on Waste Services
Should elderly and disabled persons be accommodated on the price and availability of backyard waste can service? Do you want to or like carting all of your garbage cans in and out of your backyard every week? Would Piedmont look cleaner if everyone had backyard service?Your input is needed by the City to assist in Piedmont’s upcoming contract procurement for waste disposal.
You can help by doing the following:
+ Filling out the City’s online waste survey linked below:
(https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/piedmontcommunitysurvey
(Paper versions of the survey will be available at the Public Works Counter at City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.)+ Attending the Thursday, Work Session on Waste Disposal:
Thursday, February, 2, at 7 p.m.
Veterans Hall, 401 Highland Avenue.
+ Contacting your council members and letting them know the service you think is appropriate at: > citycouncil@ci.piedmont.ca.us.
Click here to see the slide show given at the Community Workshops. To learn more about solid waste services in Piedmontvisit: www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/recycling-waste.shtml
For more information on the current procurement effort and to add your name to an email notification list for the solid waste services procurement process, please contact Jennifer Gavin in the City Planning Department at jgavin@ci.piedmont.ca.us or 510-420-3054.
The current provider, Republic Service, would have extended the contract at a 30%-40% in increase with a curtailment of the backyard service. Regrettably gong to a mandatory 100% backyard service would make the Waste Collection in Piedmont prohibitively expensive and unacceptable to many. Last survey results in Piedmont shows 45% using backyard service.
Senior and Disabled accommodation and exemptions for backyard service is a normal part of waste collection in many California cities. 1/17/2017 R3 Consultant Garth Schultz stated this is “standard” and some cities provide an accommodation or exemption where otherwise backyard service is not the normally provided.
Some local examples: City of Berkeley has curbside exemption for Age 62 and over plus disabled (no doctor letter required). Otherwise the standard 32 gallon residential curbside service in Berkeley is $39.19 monthly and the backyard service is twice that at $78.38. City of Oakland offers entirely free backyard waste collection for those unable with a doctor’s letter. Otherwise curbside service for 32 gallon residential backyard service in Oakland is $36.82 monthly and $76.19 for backyard service. What makes the most sense for Piedmont is the Marin County model of Disabled + Senior age 70 disabled getting a backyard exemption at curbside rate. (Sources: Waste Management of Oakland 510.613.8710; City of Berkeley 510.981.2489; Millvalleyrefuse.com)