I can't believe we were even considering the option of garbage every other week. I'm glad we are adding food-scraps composting. How about recycling pickup every week, like every other town I've lived in in the Bay Area?

I have been part of the pilot program. Unlike the majority of our community, despite my fears of overflowing trash, I gave it a go. It was rough at first as I have to retrain what went in which receptacle. Please know that in all the many months we have participated, we have NEVER overflowed our trash. I will admit I do not have any diapers to dispose of, but the overall decrease in garbage has been amazing. RARELY is our garbage can full even after 2 weeks. We all need to give more in every way and demand less as our resources in every way will continue to be less FOR ALL. I am very sad that the city council did NOT whole-heartedly pass bi-weekly trash pick up.

I would be happy to compost food scraps. At my previous address the city encouraged us to put food scraps in the yard waste bin, which was very easy to do. I wonder if that is what is being considered in Mountain View?

Why are multi family dwellings not incorporated into the program? Mountain View houses a large percentage of its residents in multi family buildings who want to participate in the composting part of the program.

I'm very happy to compost my food waste, but as hot as it can get here in the summer, to have stinking garbage in our yards for TWO WEEKS straight would be completely unacceptable. Thanks to the City Council for thinking this through.

"Why are multi family dwellings not incorporated into the program?"
Ummm....maybe because there is no program....maybe? Did you read the part in the headline where they voted it down?

Clarification - they voted to start a new food scrap collection with yard waste (like the programs now in Los Altos, Palo Alto and lots of city on the Peninsula have started in the past several years. Since the food scraps will be put into yard waste cans (tree trimmings, grass cuttings) now collected at single family residences, it doesn't apply yet to large multifamily residences like apartment buildings (smaller multi family and town homes are included). They may come up with a plan for food scrap collection later for apartment buildings that have shared waste containers.

What they voted down was a proposal to cut back garbage collection to every other week.

So, the City Council finally has shown a tiny bit of common sense regarding the adverse effects of overcrowding garbage cans. It's to bad that they're still totally ideologically blind to the ongoing overcrowding of apartments and traffic in our neighborhoods and streets! The cynic in me thinks that their attempts to force us into unsanitary bi-weekly collection are far from over. Ideologues never give in --- they just keep trying.

I too am part of the original biweekly garbage pick up pilot project. I have never had an overflowing garbage can - one brown bag of trash every two weeks, and have never seen garbage overflowing on my street. Now thanks to a vocal minority we will all be paying more for trash pick up, and will probably be diverting less trash from the dump because the only incentive will be 'feeling good'. I do hope City Council revisits issue this sooner than later.

We were to be paying more for less service so I'm OK with not going fwd with the plan..
The pilot families signed up because they knew it would be no impact for THEM, they volunteered. If the new program was voluntary fine, but mandatory? No, the majority have spoken. The minority opinion was in support of it and a clear majority voice of opposition was heard.

Re the assertion that a "vocal minority" prevailed, according to the city survey of those in the pilot project, 55% were not satisfied with having their weekly garbage collection reduced to every other week...that seems like a majority. Also, more than 30% of those in the every other week garbage collection group reported in the survey that their garbage cans were regularly overfilled.

Our family does not wheel black garbage toters to the curb each week, a nice way to reduce the pickups needed by the city. We encourage other residents to do the same, should their garbage be not full. In our case it works great since we compost and do not have smelly garbage in our bin, that is no organic matter. Just a nice way to take care of one's needs and satisfy's city's desire for less pickups. We feel good about it and find it easy to do.

Wish they could get rid of the current program earlier than July. 7 more months of flies and rats I suppose.

I'm surprised that MV has taken this long to approve a composting program, similar to what neighboring cities are already doing. Perhaps costs and infrastructure have delayed the rollout, but my family will definitely participate in the new service.

Does anyone know if the city of MV will continue with every other week recycling pick-up or if it will be picked up every week with this new program. And why will this program have to wait until July to start?
We rarely fill our trash more than 1/4 full each week and would be happy to have every other week trash pick-up.

Recycling will remain on the same schedule of every other week. Having weekly pickup of recycling was discussed back in April but there wasn't much interest since residents can currently get a second recycling cart, or the larger size one without charge if they need more space for recycle materials.

The delay until July will give the city time to distribute educational materials and organics carts for town house residents who don't now have yard waste carts the way single family dwellings do. They will also be setting up new routes for drivers to collect yard waste on a weekly basis since it is now collected every other week except for ten weeks in fall when leaves are coming down from our trees. There will also be an additional charge for the new food scrap program of $1.75 for the average 32 gallon garbage cart, less for the 20 gallon cart. If you believe you will be able to reduce your garbage by using the food scrap bin once the program begins, you will be able to downsize your garbage cart size as well to reduce your monthly cost