Residents are asked for feedback about desired collection services and more.

What collection services are your highest priority? Which would you want incorporated into pickup? These questions and more were up for discussion at a city of San Diego forum held Sept. 9 at the La Jolla/Riford Library.

The forum was the last in a series of “open house” events planned by the city as part of a comprehensive process to determine how to adjust current trash collection services and whether to charge a fee for such.

The city currently provides collection services – mostly paid for by the general fund – for single-family homeowners and residential complexes up to four units, as it has done since 1919 and the implementation of the People’s Ordinance.

Residences on private streets and in gated communities, mixed-use properties and non-residential properties have always been charged for collection services.

In 2022, San Diego voters passed Measure B, which amended the People’s Ordinance to remove “the prohibition the city had for charging for waste and recycling collection,” said Jeremy Bauer, assistant director in the city’s Environmental Services Department.

Since 2022, the city has undertaken a “study built on robust outreach and engagement with the public,” Bauer said, inviting insights into preferences, feedback on current services, and desires for future services.

The city is also examining what those services would cost, he said, noting the city cannot charge residents more than cost for the services.

At the informal forum, held without a conventional presentation, attendees moved from station to station, learning about the history of San Diego waste collection, funding for services and how trash is currently collected.

Attendees were also asked to prioritize services and select which services they’d like to see; many indicated they would be most likely to use a service to dispose of hazardous waste materials like paint, electronics and batteries and wanted bulky item pickup and free replacement of collection bins.

In addition to attending open houses, residents can also submit feedback on the questionnaire at cleangreend.org or email trash@sandiego.gov.

Once feedback is collected, the city will begin hosting a second phase of public meetings, Bauer said, to report what was heard and what the cost application might be.

The department will also present to the San Diego City Council, first to the council’s Environment Committee and then to the larger organization.

In the spring, City Council will be asked to vote on a fee to charge, followed by a period for public protests.

Any fees approved would likely begin July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

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