If you’re considering a Fullerton home, the proposed trash contract gives you a concrete number for standard residential service beginning July 1, 2027: a maximum of $30.42 per month for three carts. It also calls for direct billing by Republic Services and unlimited on-call bulky-item collection at no charge.
There is one unresolved point. The City Council selected Republic Services on October 6, 2026, and the October 20 agenda scheduled approval of the franchise agreement. Final adoption was not confirmed in the City’s posted minutes.
This is general information and not legal advice.
Has Fullerton approved the new contract?
Fullerton selected Republic Services, but the City’s posted minutes did not yet confirm final adoption of the agreement.
The October 20 City Council agenda asked the Council to approve an exclusive franchise agreement with Republic Waste Services of Southern California, LLC, doing business as Republic Services. The report says the Council selected Republic Services on October 6.
The October 20 agenda scheduled adoption, and the draft agreement treats October 20 as its effective date. As of November 4, 2026, the minutes were still in draft, so confirm the vote in the City’s minutes. Language written into a draft agreement does not prove that the scheduled vote occurred.
The proposed initial term is ten years, with two optional five-year extensions. Under the draft, the term runs through midnight on June 30, 2037. The City alone would have the option to approve each extension, creating a maximum potential twenty-year term.
Earlier in the process, the Fullerton Observer reported that the Council was asked on September 15, 2026, for direction on negotiations for the next solid-waste services contract.
When would collection under the agreement begin?
Collection under the proposed agreement is scheduled to begin July 1, 2027.
The draft separates its effective date from its operative date. October 20, 2026, is written as the effective date tied to Council approval. July 1, 2027, is the operative date when collection services would start.
The City’s reports give no cart delivery dates, pickup days, cart colors or transition dates before July 1. Staff said a transition plan would be developed after the award. The reports also give no current residential rate or current provider, so the $30.42 maximum cannot be used to calculate a change from today’s bill.
What would standard residential service cost?
Standard residential three-cart service would have a maximum rate of $30.42 per month beginning July 1, 2027.
Exhibit A divides that figure into a $24.48 service component and a $5.94 disposal and processing component. The service covers three carts for refuse, recycling and organic waste. A smaller 32-gallon or 64-gallon cart configuration has the same maximum rate.
These are maximum rates. The contractor may set rates at or below the Exhibit A amounts. The maximums include transportation, disposal, container costs and the solid-waste handling services being provided, so the contractor could not add other charges for those included services.
Separate maximum charges include:
- An extra refuse, recycling or organic cart is $8.68 for service plus $1.57 for disposal and processing, per cart per month.
- An extra collection of up to three carts is $33.37.
- Exchanging all three carts is $51.59.
- A contaminated-cart fee after the third event in a calendar year is $15.16.
- Account reactivation is $50.
Exhibit A also contains separate commercial and multifamily schedules. It does not say which schedule applies to a given property, so ask Fullerton’s Public Works Department which classification and rate apply.
Is there a senior residential rate?
A qualified senior citizen would have a lower maximum rate for three 32-gallon carts.
That maximum is $18.68 per month, consisting of a $16.70 service component and a $1.98 disposal and processing component. If one to three carts are increased to 64 gallons, the maximum becomes $20.66.
The draft defines a qualified senior citizen as a residential customer who is at least 65 years old and meets one of two occupancy arrangements. The customer may be both the owner shown on the County Assessor’s rolls and a full-time resident of the single-family dwelling. A lessee may also qualify when obligated for rent at the dwelling and living there full time.
Republic Services could require reasonable documentation. If there is a dispute over eligibility, the City Manager would decide it.
How would billing and future adjustments work?
Republic Services would bill customers directly and could adjust the rate components annually under the agreement.
The contractor would send itemized bills. It could bill in arrears or no more than quarterly in advance. A customer whose service starts after the first day of a month, or who cancels before the end of a month, would receive a prorated charge.
Under the draft, the hauler sends the bill directly. A California buyer may separately receive a supplemental property tax bill, but that is not the Republic Services bill described here.
Annual adjustments would begin each July 1 starting in 2028. The service component would move using changes in a consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area. The disposal and processing component would pass through actual County of Orange landfill tipping fees and actual processing fees.
No annual increase would occur if the contractor was out of compliance with the agreement during the prior year. The City would continue overseeing the agreement and approved rates.
What collection services would residents receive?
Residential customers would receive three-cart service and unlimited on-call bulky-item collection at no charge under the agreement.
The standard carts cover refuse, recycling and organic waste. The organic-waste portion reflects the reason City staff gave for pursuing a new agreement. State requirements created by Senate Bill 1383 call for organic-waste recycling and food-recovery programs, and staff said Fullerton needed compliant collection and processing programs.
Bulky-item requests would have to receive a response within a reasonable time, no longer than seven days. The draft describes this as unlimited service for residential customers within the city.
What should a buyer verify before closing?
A buyer should verify the property’s service classification, billing status and applicable rate with Fullerton’s Public Works Department.
Do not infer the current trash charge from the proposed July 2027 schedule. The City’s reports do not provide today’s residential rate or say whether the proposed amount is higher or lower. They also do not establish whether a given home falls under the standard residential, multifamily or commercial schedule.
Ask for the current account information connected with the property, then read the draft agreement and Exhibit A for the future maximum schedule. Keep that check separate from other purchase records, including those covered by the California HOA disclosure guide.
If the October 20 adoption is confirmed, use the final executed agreement rather than relying only on the agenda report or draft.
A Fullerton buyer asked whether the proposed trash contract would change the monthly expense shown by the seller. She had seen possible service and rate changes discussed but did not know what the city had finally approved. We kept the existing charge in her budget and treated future costs as pending until the contract and effective schedule were confirmed.
The short version
Fullerton selected Republic Services for a proposed exclusive trash franchise, with collection scheduled to start July 1, 2027. The first-year maximum for standard residential three-cart service is $30.42 per month, and qualified senior service starts at a maximum of $18.68.
Republic Services would bill customers directly. Residential service would include unlimited on-call bulky-item collection at no charge, with a response within seven days. Annual rate adjustments could begin July 1, 2028, under the agreement’s index and disposal-cost formulas.
As of November 4, 2026, the posted minutes did not confirm final adoption. Check the City’s minutes, the executed agreement and Exhibit A before using these terms in a purchase budget.
To put the property’s estimated market value beside those recurring ownership costs, use the home value tool.
Common questions
When would Republic Services begin collection under the agreement?
Collection services are scheduled to begin July 1, 2027.
What is the maximum standard residential rate for the first year?
The maximum rate for standard three-cart residential service is $30.42 per month, effective July 1, 2027.
Would Republic Services bill customers directly?
Yes. The draft agreement calls for the contractor to send customers itemized bills and allows billing no more than quarterly in advance or in arrears.
Has Fullerton confirmed final approval of the agreement?
The October 20 agenda scheduled adoption, but as of November 4, 2026, the City's posted minutes were still in draft and did not record the action.
