South Pasadena staff and Athens Services told the Natural Resources & Environmental Commission on July 22 that the city will move from a two‑stream to a three‑stream curbside collection system to meet California Senate Bill 1383 requirements, and outlined a new curbside bulky‑item pickup program, container rollout schedule and contract changes. RP Casperian, the city’s environmental services and sustainability manager, said the city council approved a contract amendment in May and that a Proposition 218 hearing last week made the change official.

The change is driven by SB 1383’s “high diversion” requirement for jurisdictions with two‑stream systems, Casperian said, and the state’s certified facilities that meet the diversion threshold are scarce and not taking full capacity. He said the city’s alternative is to “convert our city to a 3 stream system where we would source separate our recyclables and our organics.”

Under the amendment negotiated with Athens Services, Athens will provide blue recycling service as a separate stream for all customers. Casperian said the city negotiated terms intended to avoid an immediate rate increase for residents and businesses, including a freeze of rates at the January 1, 2025 schedule and that, as staff described it, “we were able to freeze those rate increases for this year in 2025 and also for 2026.” He also said the contract’s annual adjustment formula will change from CPI to “trash CPI plus 1%.”

The amendment extended the contract’s rolling term from seven to 10 years and includes an agreement not to issue a notice of intent to wind down for five years, Casperian said. He told commissioners that the changes took effect after the city council’s Proposition 218 hearing and that staff and Athens have begun public outreach and implementation planning.

Athens Services staff gave a demonstration of how residents will sort materials and described operational details. Becky Chang, Athens’ director of government affairs, and Anthony Pacino, municipal account manager, described the new containers and outreach plan. Single‑family households that receive manual barrel service will be offered up to seven city‑ or hauler‑provided barrels; Casperian said customers must receive at least one barrel of each required color (black for landfill, blue for recycling, green for organics) and may choose colors for the remaining containers.

Athens will also replace the city’s periodic “dumpster day” events with a curbside bulky‑item pickup program. Athens will schedule pickups on request; Casperian said residents may request one free bulky‑item pickup per calendar quarter with up to five items per pickup (up to 20 items per year). Multifamily properties will be served through property managers or HOAs rather than by direct scheduling with Athens, staff said.

Athens described its composting process for organics and noted certain items that do not belong in the organics stream (for example, palm fronds and some hard shells) because they damage equipment or do not break down in the facility’s process. Staff and Athens said electronic waste and household hazardous waste will continue to be handled through separate safe‑center programs and periodic county collection events.

Casperian said Athens is conducting door‑to‑door waste assessments for commercial and multifamily properties, providing flyers, signage and training as needed, and that container deployment for commercial, multifamily and city facilities is planned for September with single‑family deliveries beginning in November and continuing over several weeks.

Commissioners asked about container swaps, electronics disposal and the hauler’s processing facilities. Athens staff described sorting technology and said the company composes food and yard waste at a Victorville facility using an aerobic, high‑temperature process. Athens offered to host facility tours for commissioners.

No commission motion or vote was taken on the SB 1383 implementation at the July 22 meeting; the presentation was an informational update and public questions were taken.