L.A. City Council Passed Trash Franchising Plan, Now Arguments Begin

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On Wednesday, the City Council passed a plan to change the way trash is collected in the City with an 11 to 3 vote. Currently, any collection company can pick up trash on any day of the week, which means people may have a trash truck outside their window every day of the week.

The new system is an attempt to bring order to the pick up system, which will ultimately result in noise reduction and less pollution. The City has not yet said how much the plan will cost.

Ruben Gonzalez is part of of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, is against the franchising initiative. He makes the argument that this new system will force smaller collection companies to go out of business, which will result in job loss. There are nowabout 140 trash companies operating in Los Angeles.

Gonzalez cites a study showing that costs to businesses will increase. He says the City could have accomplished its goals with a non-exclusive system. That way, the City would still be divided into zones, but customers would not be limited to one company per zone.

On the contrary, supporters of the franchising system say it will stabilize costs and help the environment.

Greg Good, Director of the Don't Waste L.A. Project, Good said 62 of LA County's 88 cities already have exclusive franchising systems - and generally, it has been beneficial.

Even though the vote is over, the fight is not. Opponents of the new system may try to get enough signatures to put the plan on the March ballot.

Photo by Mike Limksvayer; courtesy of Creative Commons

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