Pescadero Transfer Station: Rates, Hours and Funding Updates

"Garbage isn't the only thing being dumped at the Pescadero Transfer Station — the trash yard is also a money pit." That was the opening line of a Coastside News story by Lars Howlett. It reported that the county-owned drop-off on Bean Hollow Road had lost $183,000 the year before, and that county Public Works officials had signaled the Pescadero community would have to cover the shortfall eventually.

That time is close. On September 28, 2026, San Mateo County updated its station page. The fund that covered the station's losses through the late 1990s and the 2000s is now depleted, and the county's general fund is paying for operations. County staff and a subcommittee of the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council have worked out a short-term plan that may include a rate increase. It goes to public feedback at the October 13 PMAC meeting.

Two changes have reached the dump run this year, and they have different causes. The lost Sunday came from a contract. The possible price increase comes from a gap that has been open since the 1990s.

The Sunday went into a contract, not a budget cut

The station's weekend schedule used to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Since March 1, 2026, it has been Thursday through Saturday.

Both schedules add up to 21 open hours a week. The station kept the same number of hours and moved one day to the front of the week.

The county's general unincorporated-areas page once gave January 1, 2026 as the start date. The station's own page and PMAC both list March 1.

Lizzie Carrade Stein, the county's special districts program manager, presented the new hours at PMAC's December 9, 2025 meeting. Councilmember Erridge asked whether the change had been shared with the community before. According to the minutes, it had not, because Republic Services had the change built into its contract with the county. Councilmember Augustine said the change "impacts more than just inconvenience."

The contract runs five years. A 2025 Board of Supervisors resolution set Republic's operating term from June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2030, with a not-to-exceed amount of just over $2.03 million. The Thursday-through-Saturday schedule is part of a deal that runs through spring 2030. The October 13 discussion is about money, and nothing in the county's notice mentions bringing Sunday back.

Two rate increases, and fees still cover about three-quarters

The county says the station's operating costs have been higher than its gate revenue for nearly 30 years, and that the gap keeps growing. The Board of Supervisors raised gate rates on January 26, 2016, and again on January 9, 2024. The county says neither increase brought costs and revenue into line.

A June 2024 Board memo gives the clearest numbers. In fiscal year 2022–23, the station cost $270,925 to operate and collected $206,565 in gate fees. The county Solid Waste Fund covered the $64,360 difference. That works out to gate fees paying about 76 cents of every operating dollar.

The same memo came out about five months after the 2024 increase took effect. It projected the same split for the six-month contract extension that followed: 76% from gate fees and 24% from the Solid Waste Fund. That extension, Legistar file 24-587, was approved June 25, 2024. It kept the operating agreement in place through February 28, 2025.

So the county's own projection left the one-quarter gap in place even after the 2024 increase. What changed in 2026 is where the money comes from. The cushion is gone, and the county says it now needs both near-term and long-term solutions to keep solid waste service on the south coast reliable and funded.

What a load costs today

These are the rates in effect since January 15, 2024. They are the baseline any proposal will be measured against.

Trash

• $15 minimum for 32 to 63 gallons
• $18 for 64 to 95 gallons
• $25 for 96 gallons up to one cubic yard
• $40 per yard for 1 to 3 yards
• $55 per yard for 4 to 6 yards

Recycling, food and yard waste

• Recyclables: $7 minimum for 32 to 64 gallons, $14 up to one cubic yard, $25 per cubic yard
• Food waste and agricultural material: $15 for 32 gallons, $18 for 64 gallons, $27 for 96 gallons up to a yard, and $45 per cubic yard for food waste at a yard or more
• Yard and wood waste: $34 per cubic yard minimum, $37 per yard for 3 to 5 yards
• Inerts such as dirt, concrete, rock and asphalt: $95 per cubic yard minimum

Tires, appliances and bulky items

• Car tires: $24 with rims, $20 without. Truck tires: $43 with rims, $36 without.
• Appliances $30, sofas $35, heaters and AC units $38, oversized water heaters $33
• Refrigerators: $87 with Freon, $33 if evacuated
• Metal: $20 under a yard, $37 per yard at a yard or more
• Electronic waste and motor oil: no charge

The station is owned by the county and run by Republic Services. It takes trash, recyclables, food and yard waste, electronics and tires.

The arithmetic in front of PMAC

The county has not published the proposed rates. Its station page does not give an amount or describe other options in detail. Any specific new price is speculation until the meeting.

The 2022–23 numbers still show the scale involved. If fees cover 76% of costs, closing the gap with fees alone, at the same volume and the same costs, would take an increase of roughly one-third. That is simple division, not a county proposal. Real numbers could come out differently. Costs under the 2025 contract may not match 2022–23. Volume could drop if prices rise. And the county describes the October plan as short-term, with a separate long-term solution still to come.

The county calls what's on the table "a short-term solution to the operating deficit – including a potential rate increase." That wording leaves room for other measures besides higher gate fees. The meeting is where residents will learn what those measures are.

One more figure needs context. The Coastside News loss of $183,000 and the county's $64,360 Solid Waste Fund contribution may not cover the same year or use the same accounting. The article's date isn't shown in the version we reviewed. Both figures show a deficit. They shouldn't be compared side by side as if they measured the same thing.

When Thursday through Saturday doesn't work

The county's own page lists what to do if the station's hours don't fit your schedule.

1. Ox Mountain landfill is open Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed Sundays.
2. The Shoreway Environmental Center is open Sundays, so it covers the day the Pescadero station dropped.
3. Curbside collection is available from four non-exclusive franchise haulers in unincorporated areas.
   • GreenWaste Recovery, 650-568-9900
   • Republic Services, 650-756-1130
   • South San Francisco Scavenger Company, 650-589-4020
   • Kunz Valley Trash, 831-338-9050

Questions about the station itself go to Republic at [email protected] or 650-879-0729.

The curbside option matters more now. When a self-haul load costs more than it used to, comparing it against a regular pickup becomes a real household decision on the south coast. Neither the county nor PMAC has said whether the October plan changes anything about curbside service. Haulers can give quotes before the meeting, so the comparison will be ready when new numbers come out.

Getting to the meeting

The October 13 PMAC meeting is open to the public, in person or online. The agenda and attendance instructions will be posted at pescaderocouncil.org. The current rate sheet is posted by the county, and having it with you makes any proposal easier to judge on the spot. The county's station page is where the outcome and any new rates should appear first.

Owning a home on the South Coast comes with costs that never show up on a listing sheet: dump fees, hauler contracts and the hours of a county facility on Bean Hollow Road. If you're wondering how costs like these affect what your Pescadero property is worth, The Serdy Team can help you sort through it. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we'll walk you through the numbers that matter here.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.