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West Covina council approves Athens amendment to meet SB 1383; businesses warn of higher commercial bills
Summary
After extensive public comment about a proposed 17% commercial rate increase and a $1.5 million payment to the city, the West Covina City Council on Dec. 16 approved an amendment to the Athens Services franchise agreement to comply with California's SB 1383 organics-reduction law. Athens and city staff said single-family residential rates will not increase and the company will return with an outreach plan.
The West Covina City Council voted unanimously Dec. 16 to approve an amendment to the city's Athens Services franchise agreement aimed at bringing the city into compliance with California's organic-waste law, SB 1383.
Athens Services' vice president of government affairs, Liz Ramirez, told the council the state mandate requires cities to implement multi-stream organics and recycling programs, contamination monitoring, food-recovery support, expanded outreach and procurement of compost and mulch. Ramirez said the changes will require new equipment and staffing, and that Athens' proposal sets commercial rate increases of up to 17 percent while single-family residential customers would not see a base-rate increase.
Why it matters: SB 1383 includes enforcement mechanisms and penalties for noncompliance; staff told the council that CalRecycle will conduct compliance inspections in early January 2026. City and Athens officials said the amendment and related operational steps are intended to…
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