Manteca is going to delve into garbage in the new year.

And high on the list is finding a new location for the Lovelace Transfer Station now within a half mile of Manteca’s nearest northernmost neighborhood.

City Manager Toni Lundgren said the directive is to look at all aspects of solid waste operations from the point of collection to where garbage, green waste, organic waste, and recyclables end up going.

“We want to make sure we are doing things the best we can,” Lundgren said.

The study is a precursor to a looming council decision to address new solid rate hikes that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2028.

It is part of a commitment the city repeatedly made during public discussions during the most recent rate hike studies for municipal utilities that required significant jumps in monthly wastewater and water rates after they weren’t adjusted for 13 years.

The promise — that a number of citizens asked for that weren’t thrilled about the large increases — was to make sure rates kept pace with inflation and replacement of equipment and such in a timely manner.

By doing so, the expectation is future rate hikes will be much smaller.

The current adopted rate hike covers a four year period that started in 2023.

At full implementation, solid waste rates will have increased nearly 50 percent.

The first step took the monthly rate for a 96-gallon cart from $34.33 to $47.41 in late 2023.

It then increased to $54.68 on Jan. 1. 2025 and then $58.72 on Jan. 1, 2026.

The last step of the current rate hike goes into place on Jan. 1, 2027 when the monthly cost will increase to $63.07.

The rate hikes were driven by rising operational costs, landfill fees, and state-mandated organic waste programs.

The city is working with San Joaquin County to relocate the Lovelace transfer Station.

The idea of assessing fees on development in north Manteca to help pay for a new location has been floated in recent years.

Developers would benefit indirectly as not having a solid waste transfer station by new neighborhoods would not undermine their ability to sell homes.

The city in the past has also toyed with the idea of operating its own green waste composting facility on land at the wastewater treatment plant.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com