Coronado’s waste collection subsidy will end July 1
Decades ago, Coronado decided to subsidize a portion of its waste collection fees in effort to make recycling more attractive to residents. That subsidy will end on July 1.
The city has been gradually decreasing the subsidy since 2013, with the goal of eventually eliminating it. It was originally enacted as a 50 percent subsidy in 1999 with the aim of incentivizing recycling. That need no longer exists, and the economics of recycling have changed: It’s no longer profitable.
Currently, the subsidy covers 15 percent of a single-family home’s waste removal bill, with the resident covering the rest. This costs about $234,000 each year.
Coronado also subsidizes recycling for the Coronado Cays and for multi-family housing, costing an additional $27,000 and $83,000, respectively.
The city adjusts its waste collection, which is contracted through EDCO, every two years. Since 2013, the subsidy has dropped by 5 percent most times the rate has been adjusted. The city adjusts its rates every two years.
Under the past schedule, the subsidy would have dropped to 10 percent this year, but the Coronado City Council on June 17 voted to eliminate it completely starting in July. Councilmember Carrie Downey voted against the elimination, preferring to reduce the subsidy over two years and eliminate it on July 1, 2027.
At the same meeting, the council approved new EDCO rates:
- Single-family residential (90-gallon cart): $37.11, an increase from the current rate of $27.48
- Commercial (3-cubic-yard bin): $152.77, an increase from the current rate of $135.43.
These are the full, unsubsidized costs for waste collection, so residents’ bills will reflect these rates on July 1 when the 15 percent residential subsidy ends and the new rate takes effect.
Council forms a CCA subcommittee
Coronado is currently considering switching its electrical procurement to a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program, a prospect that promises cleaner energy but raised some concerns among the council when it was discussed earlier this month. The council agreed that they needed to learn more about the potential shift, and formed a subcommittee to investigate the matter.
Councilmembers Carrie Downey and Kelly Purvis will sit on the subcommittee. City Manager Tina Friend proposed a two- to three-month research period for the subcommittee, in which research and interviews with potential CCAs Clean Energy Alliance and San Diego Community Power will be conducted as needed.
Friend noted, however, that this research depends on availability of representatives from the CCAs. At time of publication, neither SDCP or CEA had responded to June 11 requests from The Coronado Times for comment on questions raised at the June council meeting.
Friend prosed that the subcommittee prepare a white paper and bring its results to the city council by the end of the calendar year.
Council will consider a fence around the Cays Park dog run
Due to community safety concerns regarding off-leash dogs at Cays Park, the City Council voted unanimously to consider fencing the dog run area of the park at a future meeting.
This discussion will not impact the heavily debated Cays Park masterplan, but instead will focus on the current park. The date for this discussion has not yet been set.
