You might complain about the price you pay for monthly garbage service in Manteca, but at least you’re not paying to get rid of someone else’s garbage.

Commercial rates for bins in some cases will end up going up hundreds of dollars a month when the solid waste rates are fully  implanted in 2028.

It is the cost of doing business.

But what shouldn’t be is businesses picking up the tab to get rid of trash dumped in — and around — their bins illegally.

And in almost all cases we’re not talking about homeless people.

“You put locks on the bins and they will cut them off,” said Mike Morowit, the Manteca councilman who also owns Miner Mart Liquors in Lincoln Center anchored by Hafer’s Furniture.

 The needed solid waste increase Morowit put in place hit him hard in the pocketbook. Besides his home service, he pays hundreds for monthly garbage service.

He’s not complaining as he knows the rate hike was necessary.

But he admits he’s not thrilled that people still dump their garbage and trash around town.

Even the placement of expensive wrought iron roof covers and such hasn’t stopped some. They simply dump trash next to trash enclosures.

Morowit noted issues associated with the homeless rummaging through the commercial trash bins has dropped in recent years thanks to locks and enclosures.

It also has prevented near tragedies.

A few years back, an alert City of Manteca solid waste driver heard odd noises after he tipped a bin at Lincoln Center. A homeless man who had been sleeping in the bin had been dumped into the back of the garbage truck. The man was not seriously injured.

The city in recent years has contracted with Manteca Property Services to augment efforts of city crews to retrieve random trash — often furniture and multiple plastic bags full of garbage — tossed out along streets, in city parking lots and even on spots on the Tidewater Bikeway.

Morowit noted the city’s new residential collection system was designed to pick up more trash with all three carts being collected weekly.

On top of that, there are annual trash drop off collections each year in the council districts plus people have the ability to have free use of a larger collection bin once a year.

And if that doesn’t work, the Lovelace Transfer station is less than a mile north of Manteca with fees starting at $21 for a vehicle.

But why do that when you can trash the city you live in?

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com