At long last, a dump will be relocated out of the middle of Salinas.

For over a decade, Salinas city officials have battled to relocate the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority’s transfer station located in the middle of the city to its outskirts. After a number of false starts, there’s finally an agreement in place between SVSWA, the city and Republic Services, contracted as the city’s waste hauler.

Starting in 2022, the Sun Street transfer station will relocate to Madison Lane, formerly a Waste Management facility. (Waste Management was a previous waste hauler.)

“A dump does not belong in the middle of the city, or within city limits,” says Christie Cromeenes, a Salinas city councilmember and SVSWA board member.

The move will pave the way for the city to implement its Alisal Vibrancy Plan to redevelop East Salinas to include parks, better lighting, crosswalks, new businesses and affordable housing. Part of the vision laid out in the Alisal Vibrancy Plan is to connect downtown Salinas (which was recently revitalized) to East Salinas, but the transfer station has been in the middle.

Under the move, approved unanimously by Salinas City Council on Sept. 28, both SVSWA’s transfer station and Republic Services’ site at 271 Rianda St. will move to Madison Lane near Boronda Road, on Salinas’ northwestern edge. Both facilities will be relocated by May of 2022.

SVSWA General Manager Patrick Mathews says they had worked on relocating since 2008, looking for alternatives such as moving to a city-owned property on Work Street or even purchasing the Madison Lane site outright. SVSWA will pay under $200,000 per year to lease the site.

Republic Services is anticipating $3.2 million in additional costs per year. Forty-seven percent of that is to comply with Senate Bill 1383, which calls for a 75-percent reduction in organic waste going to landfills by 2025. And they’re projecting part of that increase to come from compliance with Assembly Bill 939, which requires cities and counties to develop recycling plans and reroute at least 50 percent of their waste from landfills. The company also anticipates increased hauling costs because it will transport trash from Madison Lane to SVSWA’s Johnson Canyon Landfill in Gonzales.

These changes will increase Republic Services’ rates across the board. A 32-gallon residential service will increase by 9 percent, or $2.41 per month, and commercial rates will increase by 28.2 percent. Rates for apartments and multi-family units are expected to increase by as much as 17 percent. Salinas City Manager Steve Carrigan says the city, SVSWA and Republic are still negotiating to minimize rate increases in residential areas.

At the new location, SVSWA will continue to receive appliances, recycling, mattresses and other items. It’s less than four miles away from the existing Sun Street transfer station.

One fear for Cromeenes is that increased rates and a further-away facility could lead to more illegal dumping. Republic Services will continue to offer free occasional trash drop-off days.