By Donna Westfall – March 25, 2021 On March 23rd, we published an article by Samuel Strait about increased rates due to recycling. the article was titled, "DNSWMA raising rates again." With that in mind, we're publishing a Public Service Announcement so that you can be involved in the process addressing Trash and Recycling Rate Changes. Public Service Announcement On-Line Town Hall to Address Trash and Recycling Rate Changes – April 6th at 5 P.M. The Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority will convene a special meeting to discuss changes to the service fees charged by Recology Del Norte to collect trash, recyclables, and brush. The rate changes to be discussed won’t go into effect until July 2021. In October of last year, the Authority approved an extension of the collection service agreement with Recology, including a requirement that the collection rates be restructured. “The costs to process and market recyclable materials has increased significantly since 2013, and both Recology and our community have made significant efforts to respond to these challenges,” explained Authority Director Tedd Ward. “One key challenge is to reduce the proportion of nonrecyclable materials placed in recycling bins. Since 2011, customers with a 32 gallon trash cart service could order up to a 96 gallon recycling cart for no additional charge. We feel over time those no-cost recycling services fostered a perception that the value of the materials in the recycling carts somehow paid for collecting, separating, processing and marketing those materials – and that simply is not true. The intent of this public meeting is to explain the reasons for these rate changes, and how customers might adapt their service subscriptions as needed.” Ward said that he anticipates that during this meeting Jeremy Herber, General Manager for Recology Del Norte, will also make a brief presentation about the history of recycling collections in Del Norte, some of the requirements of the California Air Resources Board that impact the kinds of equipment Recology Del Norte uses to provide services, and how customers will be notified about these changes before they become effective. This Special Meeting of the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority is scheduled for 5 P.M. on Tuesday April 6th. A weblink to the on-line meeting will be posted to the Authority’s website at www.recycledelnorte.ca.gov. For more information, call the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority at 465-1100.