The City of Piedmont maintains an exclusive franchise agreement with Republic Services to provide solid waste, recycling, and organic collection services in the city. New service rates became effective July 1, 2023.
On its website, the city offers some ways to trim your bill:
- Service rates are based upon the size of your garbage cart. Collection service for recyclables and organics is unlimited in volume and provided at no additional cost. By recycling more and generating less garbage, you may be able to switch to a smaller garbage cart to save money. But be sure to choose the right container for your garbage needs. Charges will be assessed for overflowing garbage, garbage set out beyond your service level, or allowing garbage to accumulate on your property. Recycling carts and organics carts contaminated with garbage will not be serviced. Call Republic Services at (800) 320-8077 to order additional or larger carts for recyclables and organics.
- On-premises (backyard) collection service costs more than curbside service. Switching to curbside service saves approximately $50 per month. With curbside collection, the customer is responsible for placing the wheeled carts at the curb on their regular collection service day and returning the carts to their storage location promptly after collection. With curbside collection, carts are not limited in size as they are with on-premises collection.
- An Annual Pre-Payment Discount allows single family customers to voluntarily pay for one (1) year of service with the twelfth (12th) month of service provided at no charge. That is 12 months of service for the cost of 11 months of service.
- Physically disabled residential customers with no able-bodied household members are eligible to receive on-premises (backyard) collection at curbside rates. The maximum cart size available to on-premises collection is 35 gallons. To receive the discount, the account holder must fill out the application for exemption to curbside placement of carts, provide a doctor’s certification that the customer is unable to move the carts to the curb or provide a copy of a valid California Disability Placard, and verify that there are no able-bodied household members that can move the carts to the curb.
Republic Services can be contacted about these services via phone (800-320-8077), email (piedmont@republicservices.com), or online HERE.
To learn more about Piedmont Evergreen, the City of Piedmont’s outreach and education program for waste reduction, recycling, and composting, visit the city’s website page here.
And to Michael Henn’s “maybe in the next contract,” the critical issue to keep costs down to residents is to write an RFP that will encourage more bids to create a competitive environment. Waste Management’s current curbside rate is about half of Republic’s current Piedmont curbside rate. They service all surrounding Oakland streets; their truck could have continued into Piedmont. In 2018 Waste Management put a letter in to Piedmont stating they would bid if they would be allowed to use their existing trucks with an “automatic lift system.” This is simply an arm on the truck that lifts and dumps the bins. Piedmont declined to alter the bid documents and allow the auto lift system; essentially a Republic Services monopoly was created.
Other issues include no backyard exemption for Seniors and disabled. Have a backyard service at curbside rates is more the norm then exception in the region. Piedmont has no such exemption and our rates are generally about double of immediately surrounding Oakland. Some argue Prop 218 prohibits this but large haulers including as Mill Valley Refuse Service serving 7 cities has had the senio backyard exemption for years without litigation.
Not that this thought will affect the contracted rates, but something is disproportionately wrong with the rate differential between a 35 gallon landfill (black) can and a 20 gallon can. A 20 gallon can is 42% smaller than a 35 gallon can, but one only receives a 6% rate reduction for switching to the smaller can. We should be doing better at incentivizing this switch if the goal is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Maybe in the next contract.