As the City of Carlsbad prepares to transition its trash hauling services from Waste Management to Republic Services July 1, residents will soon get new carts for trash, recycling and “organic waste,” which includes yard clippings and food scraps.
Republic Services provided an update to the City Council March 22 and laid out the following process for the cart exchange:
Starting March 28, Republic will start exchanging customers’ Waste Management single-family residential trash carts with new City of Carlsbad carts. It will take about 13 weeks to switch out all the carts in the city.
Some homes have already started receiving postcards, emails, phone calls and texts with the exact date and details of their cart swap, which will happen on each customer’s regular trash day. The notifications happen about one-to-two weeks before that customer’s carts will be exchanged.
Waste Management and Republic have been working together to make the switch as smooth as possible, so Republic should have all the information about how many carts, and what type, each customer is currently using.
On the day of the exchange, customers need to put all their trash carts out – not just the full ones – so they can be picked up when the new carts are delivered. If you forget or can’t set out all your carts, Republic will return the day after your regular trash day and the following Saturday to complete the exchange.
Commercial trash container exchanges – at businesses, apartment complexes, etc. – will begin in May.
The old Waste Management carts will be reused or recycled. The new carts are owned by the city, so residents will keep using them from here on out, even if our trash provider changes again in the future.
Even though customers will have new carts, Waste Management will continue to provide trash and recycling collection services in Carlsbad through June 30. If you have any service requests until then, you should continue to call Waste Management at 760-929-9400.
Organics recycling
Also starting July 1, Carlsbad residents and businesses will start recycling food scraps, yard clippings and other “organic” materials in one bin as part of a new state law that went into effect this year.
Organic waste includes food, yard trimmings, weeds, wood, cardboard and paper products.
Residents will be able recycle their food scraps by including them in their new yard waste carts.
Republic Services will also provide a free kitchen food pail to all residential customers to conveniently separate food scraps in their kitchen before placing them outside with their yard waste.
Businesses will need to set up organic recycling services. Republic Services has been meeting and reaching out to Carlsbad businesses since December to assess their needs and help them comply with the new regulations.
Staffing
Many people have asked what will happen to current Waste Management employees who are providing trash service in Carlsbad.
Republic began meeting with Waste Management’s Carlsbad workers in January and conducted a poll that showed many were interested in continuing to work in Carlsbad under Republic Services.
Republic’s human resources team is now working to finalize agreements with those employees when possible. Company officials said they couldn’t yet provide exact numbers, but that “the vast majority” of Waste Management workers providing service in Carlsbad will continue in those roles.
New ways to reach Republic Services
Republic Services has a new webpage, customer service phone number and email address specifically for Carlsbad customers, offering an easy way for residents to get more information or reach out for help.
The webpage includes some of the important information that the City of Carlsbad has also been sharing about the transition.
The new customer service phone number is 760-332-6464.
The new email address is carlsbadservice@republicservices.com.
Remember, if Carlsbad residents help with trash service before June 30, they should still call Waste Management at 760-929-9400.
More information
City’s trash service webpage and FAQs
Republic Services webpage for Carlsbad customers
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Organics recycling
Staff contact
James Wood, Environmental Management Director
james.wood@carlsbadca.gov, 760-602-7584
