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Where the size of the bins is a factor is in primarily two categories collection of the waste from residences and disposal of the waste. Recology performs these tasks and charges the City for doing so. Costs for these are dependent upon the volume of waste (and recyclables) that gets collected then processed. Collection requires that Recology initially provide bins (this could be a fixed cost to Recology) and collection requires a truck and at least one operator. One might be inclined to think that it takes fewer stops to fill a truck when collecting the largest bins because it takes fewer stops and less mileage fill the truck. For example, suppose a truck can hold 9600 gallons of garbage, it can service 100 customers with 96-gallon bins making fewer stop and travelling less than to collect the same amount of waste from 20-gallon bins. That requires 480 stops. That’s more stops and more mileage to collect the same amount of garbage from the smaller bins. Thus, the tendency is to think it costs more to pick up smaller bins. However, that’s not quite true. Service is to individual customers. To illustrate why likely it costs more to service larger bins, let’s assume each truck carries only 1000 gallons of waste and each route is 50 customers. In the extreme case one truck can service the 50 customers with the smallest bins with one trip, while it takes five trucks to service and five operators to service the same number of customers with the largest bins (one truck would only be 80% full). Additionally, processing the waste of those customer’s waste at the service center and the disposal size costs more just because there’s more waste (there’s no reason that waste collected from a 20-gallon bin costs more per gallon than that from the 96-gallon bin once it reaches the service center.) The cost to Recology to process and dispose of 9600 gallons of waste is the same whether it comes from 96-gallon bins or 20-gallon bins. Individual customers should be equitably charged for the amount of waste they dispose. Certainly, the City and Recology individually know their fixed costs for maintaining accounts and service. Recology knows it’s costs for bins, truck, and other equipment, fuel, personnel, etc. Additionally, Recology knows how much it costs them to process the collected waste and depose it. Those costs can be determined as averages per gallon. Fixed costs similarly can be averaged by numbers of accounts, while those that vary with the size of bin can be averaged by volume. If users of 96-gallon bins were charged $1.94 per gallon as your proposal charges those with 20-gallon bins, then perhaps paying $186.24 rather than the proposed rate of $107.31, might encourage customers to be more conservative and careful about solid waste and its effect on the environment. Thus, a rate structure for solid waste can be established which encourages conservation by charging those the waste more than those that conserve, just as the City’s rate structure for water use does. I strongly encourage the council to rescind the proposed rate increases and consider an alternative which not only encourages conservation, but is more equitable. It can be applied later. Sincerely, Kathy Maher, Ph.D. 1584 Hudson Street Redwood City, CA 94061-2989 Enclosure: Inequities Redwood City Proposed Water Rates 2025.pdf