On July 1, 2024, MarBorg Industries will replace Waste Management as the waste hauler for the unincorporated areas of the Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez valleys. Affected residential and commercial customers should have received a notice in the mail providing details about this change. After a competitive bid process, MarBorg Industries (MarBorg) was selected to be the waste hauler for this region by the Board of Supervisors on July 11, 2023. MarBorg proposed the least expensive rates compared to the other waste haulers that responded to the RFP, and MarBorg has a long history of providing high quality customer service in other areas of the county.

Waste Management will still be the official hauler for unincorporated Santa Ynez, Lompoc, and Santa Maria Valleys until June 30^th. Any customers with questions surrounding current services should call Waste Management’s customer service line at (805) 922-2121 for service inquiries or (866) 964-2729 for billing inquiries.

Customers with any questions about their services under MarBorg or with questions about cart swapping can call (805) 963-1852. Customers curious about their billing options under MarBorg can visit https://marborg.com/county-of-santa-barbara-information/santa-barbara-north-county-customers/.

Please see below for answers to common questions about the upcoming waste hauler transition:

Will my service day change?

No, your service days will not change following the transition on July 1^st. You should continue to set out your containers on the same day you did under Waste Management. In late June, residential customers will receive their waste pick-up schedule in the mail detailing which weeks bi-weekly services such as recycling should be set out.

Please note, the first week of the transition is a holiday week due to the July 4^th holiday. If your regular collection day is Thursday or Friday that week, your service will be delayed by one day. If your regular collection day is Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday that week, your service will not be impacted.

When and how will I get new MarBorg containers?

Crews have been swapping existing Waste Management containers with new MarBorg containers since May. MarBorg aims to complete all container swaps prior to July 1^st. The container exchanges will occur in these three steps:

1. You will receive your new MarBorg containers the day BEFORE your regular service day. Customers will receive the same size and number of containers that they’re currently subscribed to. Please note, customers whose service days are on Monday will receive their new MarBorg carts the Saturday prior, as crews will not be working on Sundays.
2. On your regular service day, you should bring to the curb all your Waste Management containers that are serviced that week, whether they’re full or empty. These containers will be emptied by Waste Management as usual, and will be subsequently removed within two business days. Please leave the Waste Management containers at the curb until they are picked up and removed from the property. If this occurs during a week where bi-weekly services such as recycling are not being serviced, the swap for those containers will occur the following week.
3. After the Waste Management containers have been serviced and subsequently removed from your property, you should start using your new MarBorg containers like normal. These containers will continue to be serviced by Waste Management until July 1^st, after which they’ll be serviced by MarBorg. As a reminder, all routing is staying the same following the transition, so you’ll continue to set out your containers on your regular service days.

 How will I receive my first bill?

Customers will receive their first MarBorg bill at the same billing address they currently have on file with Waste Management. No action is needed on customers’ part to receive this first bill. Information on how to pay will be detailed on the bill itself. Customers are welcome to set up autopay with MarBorg prior to July 1^st by calling (805) 963-1852.

Residential cart customers are billed two months in advance for waste services, which will continue to be the case following the transition to MarBorg. Residential cart customers should have already received their final Waste Management bill in early May which outlined the cost for services in May and June. Residential cart customers should receive their first MarBorg bill in early July which will outline the cost for services in July and August.

Commercial customers are billed monthly in arrears (for example, commercial customers are billed on June 1^st for the previous month of May services), which will continue to be the case following the transition to MarBorg. Commercial customers should receive their final Waste Management bill in early July which will outline the cost for services for the previous month of June. Commercial customers should receive their first MarBorg bill in early August which will outline the cost for services in the previous month of July.

Will my costs change?

Solid waste collection rates for the new fiscal year effective July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 were approved by the County Board of Supervisors on June 4, 2024. Solid waste collection rates can be viewed at https://www.countyofsb.org/1112/Collection-ServicesRates.

Will there be any new waste facilities for material drop-off?

Starting July 1^st, MarBorg will operate the existing Waste Management facilities at 1850 Betteravia Road in Santa Maria and 67 Commerce Drive in Buellton. Customers who are familiar with these facilities can continue to rely upon them for specific waste drop-offs.

What resources are available?

Residential and commercial customers should have already received a welcome letter from MarBorg via mail with key details about the upcoming transition. Additionally, residential customers should have received a Customer Resource Guide via mail from MarBorg with details about their regular trash, recycling, and organic waste services, in addition to information about free bulky item pickups, hazardous waste, e-waste, and more.

The Customer Resource Guide for residents in the unincorporated Lompoc and Santa Maria Valleys can be found online here, and the Customer Resource Guide for residents in the unincorporated Santa Ynez Valley can be found online here.