COMPLAINTS ABOUT T.O. TRASH SERVICE REACH CITY'S EARS.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Daily News Staff Writer

One of the hot topics making a stink among residents these days is the city's automated trash pickup system.

The city implemented the program about two months ago at about 25,000 homes. The city's remaining 5,000 homes should be included by the first week of February.

But the trouble is, some residents say, they just aren't receiving enough of the service.

``We used to have four cans per week plus recyclables each week,'' said resident Diane Smith whose pickup is under the new program. ``Now we have yard scrappings picked up every other week and recyclables every other week.''

That led to problems, Smith said, when she had to hold on to recyclables during the busy Christmas holiday and a batch of leaves stockpiled until the next scheduled pickup got wet and started to smell.

On tonight's agenda, Mayor Linda Parks is asking staffers to look at options and find out what it might cost to address problems with the program.

``This is the biggest cry I've seen, between e-mails and phone calls and letters,'' said Parks, noting she has a file of complaints 1-1/2 inches thick. ``I have been doing a survey and a good 90 percent wants to see the service improved, specifically they want weekly pickup of recycling and green waste.''

Parks has suggested staffers look into weekly green waste and recycling pickups, the size and number of bins and the cost of additional bins.

``It's just abundantly clear that what we have needs to be fixed,'' Parks said. ``The sooner we fix it the better. A third of the homes won't have it until the first week of February, so I expect another rash of phone calls and e-mails.''

Residents still pay the old rate of $19.15 a month for the new service, which was implemented to help the city meet the requirements of state legislation approved in 1989. The law, AB 939, requires all cities and counties in California to reduce the amount of trash going into landfills by 50 percent by 2000 or face a $10,000-a-day fine.

Residents were switched from the weekly 180-gallon maximum for trash and 32-35 gallons for recyclables to 64 gallons a week for trash and 96 gallons for yard trimmings and 64 gallons for recyclables every other week. For an extra trash container, the cost is $5 a month.

Approximately 280 residents have called the city with concerns, said Grahame Watts, city senior management analyst.

Some of the concerns have been addressed. For example, haulers will now accept extra recyclables if they are placed in bags or clear plastic next to the recycling cart during the scheduled pickup, Watts said.

``The council has previously directed staff to revisit the program later in the year once we have a chance for the program to operate citywide,'' he said. ``However, the mayor appears to want to speed that process up.

``We anticipate there will be areas we have to make adjustments and we expect to make adjustments to the program,'' he said.

He said the city plans to survey residents about the program in August through their trash bill, followed up by a phone survey.

Councilman Dan Del Campo, who is hosting the March 3 Residents Roundtable with a focus on the trash pickup, said the mayor's proposal was excellent.

``A majority of the public is unhappy with the program as it now stands,'' he said. ``To say we only have 1.2 percent complained is not a true reflection of the sentiments of the residents. Just about everybody I speak with has a complaint. A lot of people don't have a willingness to call up the city and complain.''

Resident Debbie Gregory has polled the surrounding communities and discovered, for example, that Simi Valley offers weekly trash, recyclable and green waste automated pickup to its residents for $16.37 a month.

``Surrounding cities like Moorpark and Oak Park have a much better situation than we do,'' she said. ``We got a significant raise by (the city) doing it this way. The rate didn't go up but what happened is the service on green waste and recycling have been cut in half, so it's a significant increase.

``We are getting a lot less for what we are paying.''