(Added by Ord. No. 170,868, Eff. 2/19/96.)
A. DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is hereby declared, in order for the City of Los Angeles to be prepared to respond to the needs of its citizens for adequate solid waste disposal alternatives in the future, that recognition of the following is necessary: the greater Los Angeles area has limited landfill capacity available for solid waste disposal; new landfills are difficult to site and permit; and the State has imposed recycling and waste reduction requirements in order to reduce the total amount of solid waste going to landfill by 25% and 50% by 1995 and 2000, respectively. Further, the State has imposed a 50% and 75% reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level, by 2020 and 2025, respectively. Therefore, the City must establish a clear policy to provide an incentive for residents to reduce and to recycle the quantity of solid waste they generate. To this end, the City has developed a standard allowance for collection and management of refuse, source-separated recyclables and/or commingled recyclables, source-separated organic waste, and horse manure, which the City deems adequate to meet the requirements of the average Dwelling Unit as defined in Section 66.40. The City hereby declares that the standard allowance for a Single Family Dwelling shall be one 60-gallon black container for refuse, one 90-gallon blue container for source-separated recyclables and/or commingled recyclables, and one 90-gallon green container for source-separated organic waste. The standard allowance for a Multiple Dwelling is one 60-gallon black container per Dwelling Unit, one 90-gallon blue container per Dwelling Unit, and one 90-gallon green container for the Multiple Dwelling. Additional capacity above and beyond this standard allowance may be made available for various fees as described in this Code. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1/18/23.)
B. CONTINUOUS EXTRA CAPACITY.
1. A $5.00 per month fee will be charged for each 30-gallon increment of extra refuse capacity made available to a dwelling unit by replacing the standard allowance 60-gallon black container with a single larger, 90-gallon black container or issuing additional 30, 60 or 90-gallon black containers.
Residents who qualify for the lifeline requirements as set forth in LAMC Section 21.1.12 shall receive the first 30 gallons of extra refuse capacity at no charge and additional capacity beyond the first 30 gallons at 50 % of the extra refuse capacity fee.
High Density Households who qualify under the Department of Water and Power (DWP) water rate program shall receive the first 30 gallons of extra capacity without charge if their household has 7 to 10 residents and shall receive the first 60 gallons of extra capacity without charge if their household has over 11 residents. Additional increments beyond those increments shall be charge at the regular fee.
2. A $5.00 per month fee will be charged for each 30-gallon increment of horse manure capacity requested by a resident for a dwelling unit. The City will issue specially marked 30, 60 or 90 gallon green containers for the limited purpose of horse manure pickup.
3. A fee of $2.50 per month will be charged for each 30-gallon increment of extra source-separated organic waste capacity made available to a Single Family Dwelling or a Multiple Dwelling in addition to the standard allowance of a 90-gallon green container by issuing additional 30, 60, or 90-gallon green container(s). (Amended by Ord. No. 187,711, Eff. 1/18/23.)
4. The fees described in Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of this section will be billed through the DWP bill on the line item generally titled Sanitation Equipment Charge where it will be added to the existing charges found thereon and deposited to the Sanitation Equipment Charge Special Revenue Fund. Larger, or extra containers, will be delivered to a dwelling unit at a resident’s request, and will be recorded through the container serial number to the name of the person appearing on the DWP bill, or their designated agent, for each respective dwelling unit. The fee imposed by this article shall be a joint and several charge against the occupants and the owner of each dwelling unit subject to the charge. Residents may use this extra capacity once per week on their regular collection day. Failure to use all of the requested extra capacity will not relieve the resident from paying the monthly extra capacity fee. The fees will be collected as described in LAMC Sections 66.43, 66.44, 66.45, 66.46 and 66.47.
C. INTERMITTENT EXTRA CAPACITY. Residents of all dwelling units shall have the ability to purchase the right to have additional refuse, horse manure or yard trimmings collected by the City on a collection day to collection day basis. The resident requiring this additional intermittent capacity shall purchase from the City, at a cost of $2.00 per 30 gallons of additional capacity, a special tag to be placed on the additional materials for collection. The tags must be purchased in advance, in person at various locations throughout the City, or through the mail, and can be utilized only on the regular collection day. Each tag may be used only one time. (Amended by Ord. No. 178,875, Eff. 7/23/07.)
D. IMPLEMENTATION.
1. The Board shall have the power and duty, and is hereby directed to enforce all of the provisions of this article, except as otherwise set forth herein, and shall provide such rules and regulations as are consistent with the provisions of this article and as may be necessary or desirable to aid in the administration, including adjustments and enforcement of the extra capacity charge.
2. The Board or any of its authorized representative may make such inspections or investigations as said Board deems necessary at any reasonable time on any premises or lot for the purpose of determining the number, size, and type of automated collection containers.
E. EFFECTIVE DATE. The fees described in Subsections B and C will become effective starting 30 days after DWP notifies the Office of Finance (Amended by Ord. No. 173,587, Eff. 12/7/00.) that its billing system has been modified to include the Extra Capacity Fees.
F. FEE ADJUSTMENTS. The fees described herein shall be reviewed on a yearly basis to determine if any adjustments need to be made to cover changes in operating cost.