OUR VIEW: Curbside move a big milestone for Bakersfield
Once it's been imposed, a tax never goes away, right? It certainly seems that way. One of those unusual exceptions is taking place right now in Bakersfield, however: A Bakersfield City Council committee has recommended that curbside recycling ratepayers get some relief from their annual obligation. It's an obligation those ratepayers imposed on themselves, of course, but relief from a tax or government fee is relief any way you look at it.
Thanks to savings in the city's Solid Waste Division -- collection carts have lasted longer than anticipated, a landfill's closing came in under budget, collection routes were redrawn and the green-waste facility was electrified -- Bakersfield will be able to issue blue recycling carts for residential customers without upping rates, for the foreseeable future anyway.
The best part: If the City Council OKs it, the 9,000 trash customers who've been paying $48 a year for curbside recycling will be absolved of that financial obligation starting July 1.
The possibility that curbside fees may go away is a significant milestone for those within city government who've been pushing for a better, more complete recycling program citywide -- and for the hearty souls in the community who agreed to pony up in order to help make it happen. Once upon a time not long ago, those big blue cans were a rare sight on recycling collection days. Now, in many neighborhoods throughout Bakersfield, they're more common than not.
The latest recommendation, from the city's Budget and Finance Committee, means there's a good possibility that blue cans will become ubiquitous, and the largest city in California without mandatory curbside recycling will join the current century.
