Manteca’s 100 plus restaurants in 2017 won’t just be dealing with new garbage rates that reflect anywhere from a 21 percent to 77 percent jump depending upon the size of their bin.
They will also have to start paying a new fee for separate food waste collection that — depending on the size, frequency of collection and whether the food waste is clean or dirty — could cost as much as $636.69 a month by 2021.
While much of the grumbling about the rate increases being considered by the Manteca City Council at a Dec. 6 public hearing center around proposed changes for the city’s 21,000 residential customers the sticker shock for small businesses — especially those that dispose of unwanted food such as restaurants and retailers with perishable groceries — will end up being bigger.
The aggregated rate increase for all categories of residential service — 35, 65 and 95 gallon Toters — is 12.2 percent in 2017, 12.2 percent in 2018, and 3.4 percent in 2019. The aggregated rate increases are roughly the same across the board for commercial until you take into account the new food waste fee that is considered a new service.

In one scenario, the
real cost increase
for a restaurant
would be 145%
A restaurant using a 2-yard commercial bin that is now picked up once a week will see their rates goes from $97.44 to $132.71 a month for a 36 percent rate increase. A 2-yard food waste bin picked up once a week that has clean food is $66.35 a month and one that has dirty food contaminated with other waste is $119.44 a month.
Assuming such a customer drops down to a one-yard container for other garbage they would have a $119.80 monthly charge plus $119.44 for dirty food waste. Even with reducing the size of their non-food waste bin the restaurant’s overall solid waste bill would go from $97.44 a month to $239.24 for an effective 145 percent jump in garbage costs.
 The scenario is pieced together from numbers included in the city’s rate hike study.
Staff during its presentation to the Manteca City Council last month steered away from referencing specific food waste charges that have to be implemented in 2017 in order to cover the cost of collecting food waste separately. It is to comply with a state mandate that 75 percent of all organic waste that includes food must be diverted from landfills. Another state mandate specifically reacquires all commercially generated organic waste must be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020. Manteca is opting to turn that food waste along with methane gas at the wastewater treatment plant into compressed natural gas to power the city’s solid waste trucks.
The charge won’t be slapped against commercial customers that have a significant amount of food waste such as restaurants supermarkets hospitals, and schools until the food waste collection is up and running on a larger scale. Currently no business is being charged for the collection of food waste.
Unlike straight commercial garbage collection that offers 35-, 65, and 95-gallon Toters to 1-, 2, 3, 4, and 6-yard collection bins, food waste collections will be offered only in 35-gallon and 2-yard collection bin options.
Food waste can be collected up to five times a week just like the bins. The big difference is those opting for a 35-gallon Toter for food waste can opt to have it picked up one, two, three, four or five times a week with the accompanying charges going from $33.18, $66.35, $99.53, $132.71, and $165.89 a month.
What the 35-gallon Toter is aimed at is meeting the 100 percent commercially mandated organic waste diversion mandate by 2020. That would mean any business that sells food that can spoil  such as convenience stores that offer pizza, bakery goods, fresh fruit and such would likely be forced to use food waste Toters. With a once a week collection, that would translate into $33.18 a month for clean food waste and $59.72 a month for dirty food waste.
Commercial accounts
with food waste
will be forced to
pay for more service
The bottom line is commercial accounts with food waste will see the largest jumps as they will be forced to have additional service so the city can comply with state law.
By 2025 90 percent of all organic waste will have to be diverted from landfills meaning the likelihood exists that residential food waste recycling will be mandatory as well.
Such a system, though, would likely entail the wet garbage as it is called being separated from the rest of the trash at a transfer station. Regardless of how it is done, the possibility of residential food waste being diverted is not included in the proposed rate hikes.
The rates as proposed cover day-to-day collection costs, the expense of replacing existing trucks, and putting in place equipment to convert food waste into compressed natural gas.
The monthly rate changes would be phased over five years starting in 2017 until fully implemented in 2021.
It would take the 35-gallon residential Toter from $19.78 to $30.67 for a $10.85 per month increase.
It would take the 65-gallon residential Toter from $25.49 to $32.61 for a $7.12 per month increase
It would take the 95-gallon residential Toter from $30.02 to $34.33 for a $4.11 per month increase.
It would take senior low-income residential Toter service from $12.72 to $19.72 for a $7 per month increase.
It would take 1-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $67.57 to $119.80.
It would take 2-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $97.44 to $132.71.
It would take 3 yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $120.05 to $145.62
It would take 3 yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $317.96 to $436.85.
It would take 4-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $146.72 to $158.53.
It would take 4-yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $388.31 to $475.58.
It would take 6-yard commercial bins picked up once a week from $196.06 down to $184.34.
It would take 6-yard commercial bins picked up three times a week from $529.42 to $553.03.
 If adopted Dec. 6, the first bills with the new rates would land in mail boxes in April 2017.