WISE Agreement FAQ

Under the City's agreement with WM, residential rates are adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which accounts for rising operational costs, including fuel, labor, disposal costs.

This year, there was also a significant increase in disposal costs imposed by the County of Orange. Under the new Waste Infrastructure System Enterprise (WISE) Agreement, the County increased disposal rates for all Orange County haulers by 53%. These costs are passed through to customers and are not controlled by the City or waste haulers.

These higher disposal costs directly affect the overall cost of providing waste collection services and are reflected in the new residential rates.

Your residential rate has increased primarily due to higher disposal costs under the WISE Agreement, along with the standard annual adjustment for operational costs such as fuel, labor, and inflation.

The Waste Infrastructure System Enterprise (WISE) Agreement is a new 10-year Orange County disposal agreement that took effect July 1, 2026.

For more information, please visit cityofirvine.gov/WISE 
If you would like more information about this disposal cost increase, please visit the County website OC Waste & Recycling (Open in new window).

The next scheduled rate adjustment will take effect July 1, 2027.

Under the City's agreement with WM, residential rates are adjusted annually each July. In addition to the standard annual adjustment (CPI), the County is expected to continue increasing disposal costs over the next three years under the WISE Agreement, which may result in additional rate increases.

Due to the timing and complexity of negotiating and implementing the new WISE Agreement with the County, the rate adjustment process was delayed to ensure that Irvine's rates remained within the lowest third of comparable jurisdictions, as required by the City's agreement.

Residents are notified of rate changes through the message section of the first WM invoice reflecting the updated rates.

WM offers two discount programs for qualifying residents:

• Senior Discount
• Low-Volume Discount

Contact WM to determine your eligibility and enroll.

To qualify for the Senior Discount, you must:

• Be at least 65 years of age.
• Be the head of household.
• Provide proof of age.

To apply for the senior discount please fill out and submit WM's senior discount form (Open in new window).

To qualify for the Low-Volume Discount, you must:

• Use a 35-gallon trash container. (Please note you may use any size recycle or organics container.)

To check or change to a 35- gallon trash container, you may use your MyWM account or call our customer service team at 949-642-1191.