There was a large spike recently in missed trash pickups as Long Beach rolled out a new state-mandated organic waste collection system, according to newly released city data.
Data shows missed pickups for regular trash began rising in June, peaking in August and September, when the city missed at least 1,700 pickups each month.
Missed organic waste pickups saw a similarly dramatic increase in that time period.
This coincided with the second-phase rollout of the city’s new organic waste collection program, which began last October and ramped up in June through the start of this month.
The program distributed 84,000 green compost bins citywide, meant to meet a state mandate to divert more organic waste — such as food scraps and yard trimmings — from landfills.
Complaints about the missed pickups also boosted already large wait times at the city’s call center for trash service. Averaging around 7,000 inquiries in April and May, call center numbers spiked in June with consecutive jumps through September. In September alone, the call center received at least 17,000 calls — more than 10,000 of which were not answered.
People who called waited about 32 minutes on average in August, though wait times dropped to 17 minutes in September and eight minutes in October. Averages were not provided for June and July.
The data was presented at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, where residents in attendance griped over the program’s malodorous arrival, calling for better oversight to address stinking trash bins and poor customer service.
Others traded recipes online for scrubbing maggots and the smell of rot out of their green bins.
Speaking at the meeting, Alexandra Escobar called the rollout “an embarrassment.” Delays in collections have led to her bin “overflowing with maggots.”
“I’m paying for a city service that you’re not actually delivering,” she said. “… You rolled out a program but forgot the most important part, … actual collection. You can’t call this a glitch. It’s a failure of government.”
The organic waste program came with increased trash bills meant to cover the city’s costs. Long Beach in January published new rates — approved with the city budget last month — that could raise some trash bills 144% by 2026. Rates were previously increased in October 2023, from $28.99 to $42.66 per month for a typical single-family home.
Amid residents’ exasperated statements, sanitation officials say they have dug themselves out of the mess, with fewer missed collections and phone calls expected this month.
Acting Public Works Director Josh Hickman emphasized the problem represents “less than one percent” of the 1.2 million bins emptied by city collectors each month. Some setbacks are expected early on, Hickman said, adding that response times and pickups will improve this month as they build out their call center and hire more collectors.
The department entered a hiring spree in the past year, closing nearly all of the 46% vacancy rate among trash collectors. The department also purchased 18 more trucks and equipped them with a turn-by-turn GPS system that guides their routes.
“While we try to do the best that we can and try to service all 1.2 million carts, there has and will forever be missed pickups, due to a number of different reasons,” Hickman said. “Those routes are going to stabilize over the next 12 months or so. … We do our best, but there will just continue to be those missed pickups.”
There is also a backlog of cart exchange requests, as the city ran out of 35- and 65-gallon organic waste carts to distribute to residents. More are on the way, Hickman said, expected next month as the company that builds them has left the state.
Sanitation officials are also seeing an unusual spike in requests for special pickups — usually bulky items like furniture and appliances — which only worsened the situation.
“The good news is people are calling in their special pickups,” Hickman said. “Bad news is it happens to be at the very same time that we’re rolling out a new program and trying to stabilize our call center.”
Council members, who pressed city staff last week about complaints made to their district offices, were more complimentary to sanitation officials after the presentation.
“A lot of it really comes down to staffing,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “If you’re understaffed in certain areas and that waste is still there the next day, the next week, it becomes a burden for those workers.”