Waste Management, Oakland Propose Reduced Compost Rates After Restaurants' Protests

East Bay Express

After a loud outcry from Oakland restaurants about the massive increases in composting rates in the city's new trash program, city officials have proposed a change to the prices that would make it less expensive for businesses to sustainably recycle their food waste. As I reported earlier this week, the city's contract with Waste Management, the corporation that now has an exclusive franchise over composting services for commercial customers, brought exorbitant increases to restaurants that had previously used outside haulers for composting. According to a letter that 35 restaurant owners sent to city officials and Waste Management, many of them are now paying as much as 80 to 120 percent more to compost the same amount of materials. 

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