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Fullerton extends county waste-disposal agreement for one year as staff, managers review proposed 92% landfill-rate hike
Summary
The City Council approved a one-year extension of the County waste disposal agreement with a 2.6% CPI pass-through while staff and an Orange County City Managers technical committee review a proposed successor (WISE) that would raise landfill disposal from $42.65 to $82 per ton; council requested resident-level bill impacts.
The Fullerton City Council voted unanimously on April 15 to approve a one-year extension of the county Waste Disposal Agreement (WDA), including a 2.6% CPI pass-through through June 30, 2026, while technical committees review a proposed successor agreement known as WISE (Waste Infrastructure System Enhancement).
City staff told the council that the current WDA allows cities and sanitary districts to deposit solid waste exclusively at county landfills in exchange for relatively stable disposal rates. The staff presentation said the WISE proposal would raise the landfill disposal rate from $42.65 to $82 per ton — a 92.3% increase — and would also allocate capital expenditures for county landfill infrastructure. Because one county landfill (the Brea site) is nearing capacity sooner than earlier planning assumed, the county and cities are reviewing alternatives.
Staff recommended the one-year extension so the Orange County City Managers Association and a technical committee can evaluate the proposed WISE terms, infrastructure plans and future fee adjustments. Staff said the committee expects to have substantive answers by Sept. 30 and planned community updates in October; staff did not provide an immediate per-household dollar estimate for how the WISE increase would translate to residential bills.
Councilmembers asked staff to report what the proposed changes would mean for different customer classes, including apartments and single-family homes. Staff said the one-year extension preserves current pass-through formulas and that any future increases would be passed to customers by haulers; staff will provide more precise impact figures once the committee completes its review.
The council approved the motion to extend the WDA, authorize the City Manager to sign the extension and allow minor modifications as needed; the motion carried on a roll-call vote with all present voting in the affirmative.
