Should San Diego's residential trash fee keep rising through 2028?

Context

For more than a century, San Diego provided trash collection to most single-family homes without a separate fee, because of the 1919 People’s Ordinance. Residents of condominiums, apartments and some other properties paid private haulers on top of their city taxes. In 2022 voters approved Measure B, which allowed the city to charge for the service (City of San Diego).

On June 9, 2025, the City Council approved the fee on a 6-3 vote. The charge started at $43.60 per month on July 1, 2025 and is scheduled to increase annually through July 2028, reaching about $57.55 per month, with a lower tier around $42.89 for households choosing smaller bins. The fee funds container repair and replacement, microchipped bins, weekly recycling collection beginning in 2027, truck replacement, customer service staffing and testing of electric collection vehicles (inewsource; City of San Diego).

The amount surprised many residents. During the Measure B campaign, estimates circulated in the $23 to $29 range. Councilmember Raul Campillo, voting no, called the outcome a bait-and-switch. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, voting yes, argued the cost was not new but had simply been borne by residents who never received city service.

The scheduled increases are the live question: whether to proceed, slow them down, or restructure the fee with discounts for lower-income households. Read how city budgets work and find officials in the San Diego directory.

Arguments

Evidence is a required field on this platform. Arguments marked Verified cite a primary source — an official document, a government dataset or peer-reviewed research — that a moderator has checked against the claim.

✓ Arguments for

The fee pays for service that was subsidized by everyone else

Verified

Before Measure B, residents of apartments and condominiums paid private haulers while also paying taxes that funded free collection for single-family homes. Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera argued the charge is not a new cost but one long borne by people who did not receive city-provided waste service. Supporters argue that charging users for a service they receive is basic fairness, and that ending the cross-subsidy frees general fund money for services that genuinely benefit everyone, such as libraries, parks and public safety.

Sources

The increases fund specific upgrades residents asked for

Verified

The fee schedule is tied to a list: repairing and replacing containers, new microchipped bins, weekly recycling collection starting in 2027, replacing aging collection trucks, staffing to answer calls and handle missed pickups, and testing electric vehicles. Supporters argue that weekly recycling and reliable bin replacement are concrete improvements over the previous service level, and that they cannot be delivered without the scheduled revenue. Halting the increases, they contend, means canceling the service improvements that justified the fee in the first place.

Sources

Deferring costs makes them worse later

Verified

Collection trucks, containers and transfer facilities wear out on a schedule. If the city holds the fee flat, it either defers fleet replacement, which raises maintenance costs and breakdowns, or covers the gap from the general fund, which recreates the subsidy voters ended. Supporters argue that a published multi-year schedule, with a lower tier around $42.89 for smaller bins by 2028, gives households predictability and lets them reduce their own bill by choosing less capacity, which also supports waste reduction goals.

Sources

San Diego leaders approved the new trash fee. Now what? (inewsource)

Add an argument for

✕ Arguments against

Voters were told a much smaller number

Verified

During the Measure B campaign, cost estimates in the range of $23 to $29 per month were widely discussed. The adopted fee started at $43.60 and is scheduled to reach about $57.55 by 2028, roughly double the campaign-era figures. Councilmember Raul Campillo voted no and called it a bait-and-switch. Critics argue that consent obtained on one set of numbers does not transfer to another, and that the council should pause the escalator until it can explain the gap and submit a revised plan to public scrutiny.

Sources

San Diego leaders approved the new trash fee. Now what? (inewsource)

A flat monthly charge is regressive

Every single-family household pays the same amount regardless of income, so the fee takes a far larger share of a fixed-income retiree's budget than of a high earner's. In a region with some of the highest housing costs in the country, critics argue that adding a mandatory monthly charge that will grow to roughly $57.55 without an income-based discount or hardship program compounds affordability pressures. They favor tying any further increases to adoption of a verified low-income discount.

Sources

Residents should see results before paying more

Verified

The fee's justification rests on promised improvements, including weekly recycling beginning in 2027 and faster response to missed pickups. Critics argue the council should condition each scheduled increase on published performance data: recycling collection actually running weekly, missed pickup rates falling, container replacement times shortening. Without that link, they say, ratepayers face automatic increases regardless of whether service improves, which is the dynamic that made the original fee proposal controversial.

Sources

San Diego leaders approved the new trash fee. Now what? (inewsource)

Add an argument against

Where do you stand?

San Diego should carry out the scheduled annual increases in its residential trash collection fee through 2028.

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Key sources

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Background reading

How Local Government Works

How City Budgets Work: Revenues, Capital Plans and Public Hearings

How city budgets work: where local revenue comes from, operating vs. capital budgets, the budget calendar, public hearings and how to read a city budget.

Sep 2, 2026 ·9 min read

Guides

How to Speak at a City Council Meeting: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to speak at city council meeting: find the agenda, sign up for public comment, know your time limit, and deliver a two-minute script that lands.

Aug 4, 2026 ·10 min read

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