Many Orange County residents are set to see their trash bill go up in a couple of months as cities grapple with rising costs to dispose of their waste and comply with new state laws requiring composting. 

The boost is coming amid county supervisors hiking up costs to dump trash in the local landfills, which they announced in January were set to jump over the next three years to offset the growing disposal costs.  

[Read: Orange County Supervisors Hike Trash Rates]

But that increase is also coming as the last cities in the county are wrapping up their new composting programs under a state law dubbed SB 1383, which requires a series of new composting regulations for trash.

The new requirements means cities have to offer ways for residents to dispose of food waste instead of just throwing it in the garbage, causing the city’s trash provider also would have to separate food waste from the regular garbage and throw it in with yard trash.  

Most cities haven’t talked about the shift publicly yet. 

During the Fountain City Council meeting at 6 p.m. tonight, officials are slated to consider whether they want to raise the price for residents over the next five years or just approve an increase for this next year, citing the county’s landfill costs as the driving force behind the price hike. 

Right now, residents are set to see around a $2 increase in their monthly bill, followed by annual increases of around 50 cents for the next two years. Beyond that, it’s unclear what the increases will be. 

In their report, Fountain Valley city staff also noted they don’t have many other options beyond the county’s disposal deals. 

“The analysis by Republic Services identified a cost of $96.38/ton to dispose of solid waste at Frank R. Bowerman Landfill (Irvine, Orange County),” staff wrote. “The cost to dispose of solid waste at Sunshine Canyon Landfill (Sylmar, Los Angeles County) was calculated to be $122.57.” 

Huntington Beach leaders heard from their staff last month about what the change will look like for their residents ahead of a city council decision.

Debra Jubinsky from the city’s public works department told city leaders that monthly trash rates will increase anywhere from 12-14% for multi-family homes and businesses, noting that most single family homes would see their bills jump from around $29 to $36 this summer. 

Those bills are also expected to increase annually for the next two years according to Jubinsky. 

“All cities and special districts in the county operate under the current agreement. It’s anticipated that we will all join in and operate under this new proposed agreement,” Jubinsky said. 

She also noted the composting costs would generate new requirements for the city, including possibly looking through people’s trash to ensure they’re properly disposing of their food waste. 

While the law was passed back in 2016 according to Jubinsky, some cities haven’t had to bring themselves into compliance until now due to extensions and delay permissions. 

“Technically it went into effect January 1 2022, so we’re behind,” Jubinsky said. 

Jubinsky noted that Huntington Beach residents are set to get a notice in the mail about their trash rates going up, and that city council members were set to vote on the new rates in the coming months.

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.