Paso Robles City Council approved higher garbage collection rates for customers for the next five years.
Effective Feb. 1, Paso Robles residential and commercial customers can expect their garbage bills to increase by nearly 12%.
For some residents, that translates to anywhere from $7 to $10 more per month.
Several Paso Robles residents, like Ben Elisarraraz, said they don’t mind the higher rates.
“Obviously it’s not great to have a bill go up. You never want to see that. But I have a lot of respect for the people who clean and take care of this city,” Elisarraraz said. “If those companies need to raise rates in order to keep themselves sustainable. I respect that.”
Before the last five-year period ended in December, Paso Robles Waste & Recycle submitted a waste study to the city council, indicating their operational costs had increased in several areas: labor (+41%), equipment (+73%), fuel prices (+74%), and insurance premiums (+82%).
PRWR has been the city’s waste service provider for nearly 70 years. As part of their longstanding partnership, the city council reviews PRWR's rates every five years.
In response to the higher operational costs documented in the rate study, the city approved higher collection rates for PRWR.
Click here to access information from last week’s city council meeting detailing their decision.
