by Residents in apartments of four or more who are now looking for private hauling services are especially affected by the city of San Diego’s increased trash removal cost, which has opened a Pandora’s Box of issues for private haulers.
Social media and public commentary earlier this year expressed opinions that private hauler services were the best choice because they were less expensive than city workers. The speakers cited fees for other communities from these private haulers, which are currently on par with the ultimate fees that the city of San Diego has authorized.
However, two recent incidents in Chula Vista have brought to light issues with municipalities entering into agreements with private haulers. Additionally, we are currently witnessing issues with private haulers in San Diego unfairly taking advantage of the people they serve.I have heard of private haulers that either quote prices that are almost 2.5 times higher than the city’s recently approved fee, flatly refuse service, or say they are no longer able to provide the service. This is quite concerning. This discrepancy casts doubt on assertions of cost effectiveness made by commercial providers and prompts worries about possible market manipulation that could harm San Diegans.
Three 95-gallon garbage, recycling, and organics bins are collected weekly by the city of San Diego for a fee of $43.60 each month. Comparatively, comparable services in multi-family residential units are supposedly provided by private companies for about $110 per month.
This significant disparity may indicate a concerted attempt to take advantage of a captive market rather than being the result of supply and demand alone. These private haulers appear to be exploiting the city’s recent regulation shift to enforce exorbitant prices because residents have no other options.
The city of San Diego and possibly the state of California need to look into this matter.
Concerns about possible price gouging are raised by the recent service interruptions and notable price increases by private haulers. To shield locals from any unfair financial practices, elected leaders should act quickly.
City officials must investigate these private transporters’ business activities and act quickly and forcefully if they discover evidence of price fixing or unfair market advantage.
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San Diegans should have equitable access to garbage management, whether it is offered by the city or the private sector, which could put them in a difficult financial situation.In the end, the city ought to give careful thought to two possible solutions in order to guarantee stability and justice for San Diego citizens. In order to discourage private haulers from charging exorbitant fees and to promote ongoing city service for impacted units, a fine equal to the municipal trash service price could be imposed. Furthermore, a more sustainable and fair strategy might be achieved by seeking a ballot issue in June 2026 to permit city collection for these multi-unit residences, similar to what is done for single-family homes.
City leaders can better protect citizens from unfair practices and advance accessible and dependable trash management for everyone by proactively investigating these solutions.
Mat Kostrinsky, who lives in Del Cerro, is a small business owner and community advocate. He is a member of the boards of the San Diego City Employees Retirement Medical Trust and the Patrick Henry High School Foundation.
