BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — For over an hour at a Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting in 2023, county residents blasted the Board, and it was for one stinky situation — literally.
The reason for the fiery speeches? A rural trash tax.
“The genesis for this was to improve the environment and decrease methane gas,” said Kern County District 3 Supervisor Jeff Flores. “However, in Kern County, you know, we’re a unique area. We’re rural. Some of our citizens have fixed incomes. This one-size approach didn’t necessarily benefit Kern.”
‘We had to do something’: Rural Kern communities look to fight proposed county trash tax one signature at a time
That one-size approach came in the form of Senate Bill 1383. The bill requires cities and counties to reduce organic waste disposal by 75% by 2025…