PROPOSED INCREASE FOR SOLID WASTE/RECYCLING/COMPOST COLLECTION FOR RATE YEAR 2026
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
March 16, 2026, 7:00 pm City of San Mateo City Council Chambers 330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 9 4 4 0 3
HOW SOLID WASTE RATES ARE DETERMINED
Solid waste rates include the costs for collection services provided by Recology San Mateo County (Recology), processing and disposal services provided by the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA), and City fees that support the City’s sustainability goals and efforts to meet all regulatory compliance mandates. These include the solid waste program, street sweeping, litter and illegal dumping abatement, trash capture device management, and franchise fees. Customer rates are adjusted as required to generate enough revenue to cover the cost of the provided services. These services are available to or provided as a benefit to all City of San Mateo residents and commercial businesses. Recommended rates are reviewed by the RethinkWaste Board of Directors based on a financial evaluation of operating costs and projected revenues. Single family residential bills are based on the size of the solid waste cart and cover the cost of collection, processing, and disposal of solid waste, recycling, and organic material. Commercial and multi-family rates are based on the size of the solid waste container and frequency of collection (e.g., 1 time per week, 2 times per week) and covers the cost of collecting solid waste and recycling.
In addition, commercial and multi-family rates include a charge for organic material collections based on the size and frequency of collection of the organic material container.
The full rate schedule, including all commercial services, is available for review at www.cityofsanmateo.org/ProposedSolidWasteRates or at the City Clerk’s Office at 330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo.
PROPOSED RATE INCREASES
The proposed change is directly related to the increases to collection, disposal, and processing costs which have caused costs to exceed revenues.
IMPACT OF PROPOSED INCREASE ON SOLID WASTE BILLS
The following table summarizes the rates with proposed increases.
All commercial/multi-family garbage rates will remain flat.
Recology provides additional services upon request that are not included in the City’s solid waste collection rate. Additional services include backyard or distance service, additional carts, and extra on-call pickups of bulk items. The fees for optional services will appear on the customer’s Recology San Mateo County bill as separate line items in addition to the standard cost of collection. A complete list of all the additional services and their 2026 cost is available at www.cityofsanmateo.org/ProposedSolidWasteRates or at the City Clerk’s Office located at 330 W. 20th Avenue, San Mateo.
Residential Garbage Collection (Single family homes are billed quarterly, assuming service 1 t ime per w eek)
Size of
Collection Cart
2025 Current
Monthly Rate
Proposed 2026
Monthly Rate
Monthly
Difference
Cart Size Increases
Residential Cart Rates
20-gallon $36.09 $42.09 $6.00
32-gallon $45.93 $52.18 $6.25
64-gallon $72.43 $78.93 $6.50
96-gallon $103.08 $107.24 $4.16
For questions, please call the City of San Mateo, Public Works Department at 650-522-7346.
1 2
7 0
6 Public Works Department
City of San Mateo
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo, CA
94403
The City of San Mateo is currently considering an increase to the charges collected by Recology for solid
waste/recycling/compost collection and disposal. You are receiving this notice because City records indicate that you are a solid waste customer receiving service in the City.
On March 16, 2026 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, the San Mateo City Council will hold a Public Hearing to accept public input and testimony on a proposed increase on the maximum allowable charge for solid waste/recycling/compost collection and disposal, to be effective April 1, 2026. Any interested person may present verbal or written input to the City Council. Although the City Council will consider all input, State law provides that only the written protests of property owners may be counted to determine whether a majority protest (50% of all parcels +1) to the proposed maximum exists. If, at the conclusion of the public hearing, a majority protest of property owners does not exist, the City Council will consider adoption of the proposed increase in the maximum allowable charges.
SEE REVERSE OF THIS CARD
FOR IMPORTANT DETAILS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
March 16, 2026, 7:00 pm City of San Mateo City Council Chambers 330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
M arch 1 6, 2 026, 7:00 pm
City of San M a te o
City Council Chambers
3 3 0 W e st 2 0 th A ve n u e ,
San Mateo, CA 94403
HOW TO PROTEST THE RATE INCREASE
A property owner or a City solid waste customer may submit a written protest to the proposed increase in maximum rates to be charged by the City’s franchisee by U.S. mail, to be received prior to the meeting date, or hand delivered to the City Clerk, at any time before the end of the public hearing. The City Clerk’s address is: 330 West 20th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403. Only one protest per parcel will be counted. Written protest must include the owner or customer’s name, service address,
assessor’s parcel number (the nine-digit number that appears on your property tax statement) and the owner’s or customer’s signature for the property served. While protests may not be submitted by electronic means such as email or texts, as they are not an official rate protest mechanism under Proposition 218, the City values all residential input and will read all correspondence regarding rates.