While water rates are going up, trash pickup fees are staying about the same, with Simi continuing to be charged the lowest residential rates in the county in 2010.

At its Monday meeting, the City Council approved new monthly collection rates for the coming year.

Residential rates for regular customers will be $23.63. Residential rates for seniors will be $19.20. The rates decreased by a few cents.

Commercial and multifamily rates will decrease by $1.26. For a 3-cubic-yard bin collected once a week, the rate will go from the current $133.68 to $132.42.

The cost of on-site dumping is going up slightly. Waste Management informed the city that the tipping fee, which is the fee paid by anyone disposing of waste at the landfill, will increase by $1.50 to $51.95 per ton starting Jan. 1.

Along with adjusting the service fee schedule each year, the council also conducts an annual review of the waste haulers’ performance.

According to city staff, all complaints were satisfactorily resolved and the collection vehicles meet all the required standards.

In addition, the collectors have exceeded the state’s 50 percent diversion mandate by 16 percent, meaning that 66 percent of the waste picked up by WM trucks winds up somewhere other than in the landfill.

In response to community concerns about trash on the 118 Freeway, Councilmember Steve Sojka asked what efforts are being taken to make sure trash trucks aren’t littering on roadways.

Mike Smith of Waste Management said that while the trucks have lids over them, there are times when something on top of the lid blows off.

To combat the problem, Waste Management sought and recently received the approval of Caltrans to allow WM employees to clean up the highway.

Thus far, Smith said, he has a list of 47 people who’ve volunteered to spend their weekends picking up trash from the freeway.