Santa Clara County garbage customers face rate hike as recycling revenue falls

Garbage collection rates in the eastern unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County are increasing by 5.5 percent on July 1.

On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors approved the hike in price because its service provider, Recology, had increased costs of service as a result of recent regulatory changes in international importation standards for recyclable materials that have reduced the amount of revenue generated while simultaneously increasing the costs to process recyclables.