Why this matters
San Diego residents now have a fee for trash pickup after going decades without paying for the service.
Can’t pay your new trash collection fee? The city of San Diego is offering financial assistance to some households as long as they apply by April 30.
The city’s Solid Waste Management Fee Financial Assistance Program helps households cover roughly half of their annual trash collection fee. Funding is available for 7,000 households, but only about half as many have applied.
From the Documenters
This story came in part from notes taken by Brisa Karow, a San Diego Documenter, at a Southeastern San Diego Community Planning Group meeting earlier this month. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings.
“There’s plenty of resources left for another 3 or 4,000 customers, so we’re trying to get the word out,” said Jeremy Bauer, assistant director for San Diego’s Environmental Services Department, at a recent community meeting.
The program could save residents up to about $260 every year. Right now, trash pickup costs between roughly $33 and $45 a month, depending on bin sizes.
Incremental increases are expected through 2028 and will reach as high as $58.
To qualify, applicants must own the property, use it as their primary residence and receive city trash collection services. They must also either earn no more than 60% of the state’s median household income or have a member of the household enrolled in a social safety net program such as CalFresh, Medi-Cal or others.
Until last summer, the city did not charge for trash collection. That had been consistent since 1919. But in 2022, voters approved Measure B, which allowed the city to consider implementing a fee.
The fee itself wasn’t implemented until June 2025 — higher than what was originally estimated because the city miscalculated the number of households receiving services.
The financial assistance program is administered through a city partnership with the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty of San Diego County, Inc.
The advisory committee has been hosting information workshops since the program began in January. There will be one more meeting from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 in the San Ysidro Library’s community room at 4235 Beyer Blvd.
You can apply online and find more information here.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
