Trash Fee Hike Proposed for County Residents

Riverside County supervisors have scheduled a May 12 public hearing on proposed trash-rate increases for unincorporated communities across the county. (mynewsla.com) (rivcocob.org) The increases would apply in areas served by Waste Management Collection and Recycling, CR&R Incorporated, Desert Valley Disposal, and Burrtec Waste & Recycling Services under county franchise agreements. (mynewsla.com) (media.rivcocob.org) County documents say the rate changes are part of an annual adjustment process tied to the Consumer Price Index, with revised rates proposed to start July 1. (media.rivcocob.org) (mynewsla.com) The issue reaches residents in unincorporated places rather than cities that run their own systems. Communities named in local coverage include Highgrove, Woodcrest, El Cerrito and Lakeland Village, along with Coachella Valley areas such as Bermuda Dunes, Thousand Palms and North Palm Springs. (patch.com) (newsbreak.com) The county’s current framework was set in September 2024, when supervisors approved amended franchise agreements with the four haulers after a public hearing. Those contracts added service and compliance programs tied to California’s organic-waste diversion rules and built in annual inflation adjustments for up to five years. (patch.com) (media.rivcocob.org) A 2025 county resolution adopting that year’s rates said haulers had to submit applications by March 15 and that the Department of Environmental Health reviewed the proposed adjustments before recommending approval. (media.rivcocob.org) Supervisors are not voting on the final prices yet. The May 12 hearing is the step required before the board can adopt the new rate schedule for fiscal year 2026-27. (mynewsla.com) (rivcocob.org) If the board approves the increases after that hearing, higher bills would begin July 1 for households in the affected unincorporated communities. (mynewsla.com)