Representatives from MarBorg Industries and the city of Santa Barbara held an open house last week to share more about the shift to automated trash service and give residents a look at the new trash bins.

According to Sarah Stark, the franchise corporate liaison for MarBorg, the biggest change Santa Barbara residents will notice first is the new trash bins.

“Most people are just going to see a color change from their trash cart going from brown to gray,” Stark said.

One of the reasons for the change is state law Senate Bill 1383, which requires trash cans and carts to be specific colors. Stark also stated that many of the wheeled carts are older and need to be replaced soon anyway.

MarBorg is also working to replace the old wheeled carts with the proper color across the rest of the county in communities they provide trash service (Santa Barbara, Goleta, Buellton and some unincorporated areas).

Once collected, the older bins will be recycled locally. The bins are made of high-density polyethylene which is a valuable kind of plastic, Stark said.

“They’ll be recycled into things like other carts, law furniture, and other plastic items,” she said.

Stark added that customers who currently have round trash cans will also be getting new carts, but not until April or May. Customers will have an option of three different sizes based on the service they choose – 35, 64, and 96 gallons.

The city of Santa Barbara is the last service area to have the non-wheeled cans replaced.

She also stated that residents who had round cans and got in-place service will likely have to transition to roadside service and haul the receptacles to the curb.

The change to automated service is scheduled to begin in July.

In-place service will still be an option for people who pay an additional fee and waivers are available for customers who have a disability or are elderly. Customers can reach out to MarBorg directly to ask how to obtain a waiver.

Stark stated that the rates for in-place are being finalized with the city and have not been confirmed yet.

The city is also planning a push to remind people to take in their carts after pick-up time and do more code enforcement.

The enforcement will likely come as warnings to residents who forget to take in their carts or leave them on the street. However, the city is hoping to avoid fines.

“We very very rarely do fines,” said Hillary Allen, the Environmental Services Specialist for Santa Barbara.

One of the people who attended last week’s event was John Beardsmore, who owns an apartment building.

One of his concerns was how the automated service would work.  

“I have all tenants live on the premise and it’s not their job to be responsible for moving the trash cans to the curb,” Beardsmore said.

“It’s basically on me or I have to hire somebody to go up there and make sure all the cans get put on the curb with the new (service) they’re implementing.”

Beardsmore also stated that the new service will likely cost more for him.

“Everybody’s concerned about rents continuing to rise and rise and rise and this is one of the reasons why rents are rising. The cost is going to be more for us.”