In late October, three weeks into the changeover in garbage companies, Janos Varga of California Peptide Research called the Register to complain that his company's garbage wasn't being picked up.

"I'm just utterly frustrated and don't know what to do," said Varga, who found himself "super-glued" to the phone in failed attempts to reach Napa Recycling and Waste Services.

Six weeks later, Varga is a happy camper. "All seems to be in the past," he said this week. "It did get solved. Give credit where credit is due."

After a rocky start, Napa Recycling has worked out most of its service problems since taking over from Waste Management/Napa Garbage Service on Oct. 1, said Greg Kelley, the new provider's general manager.

"Our days are getting normal length. We're still adjusting routes to make it as efficient as possible," Kelley said.

Kevin Miller, Napa's materials diversion manager, said there were still "pockets of confusion" in residential service, but pickups for most of the new company's 25,000 customers are going smoothly.

Napa Recycling and its sister operation, Napa County Recycling, serve both Napa and surrounding unincorporated areas under 10-year franchises.

While curbside service is nearly normal, the company ran into new problems last week when it sent out its first bills for October service, Miller said.

The unfamiliarity of the new bills prompted hundreds of inquiries to Napa Recycling offices, with phone delays of up to 20 minutes, Miller said. "They just got slammed," he said.

A recorded message at Napa Recycling offices Thursday morning apologized for long phone waits, which it attributed to a high call volume.

October bills were nearly a month late. The company plans to mail out November bills sooner, which may cause more confusion, Miller said. Coming on the heels of October bills, the November bills may not reflect some October payments, he said.

Payments can still be made in person. City customers can pay at the Vintage Bank, 1500 Soscol Ave., while city and county customers can pay at company offices at the Napa Recycling and Composting Materials Facility, 820 Levitin Way, near the Napa County Airport.

When Mel Gafner of Stone Mountain Circle got his October bill from Napa County Recycling, he was angered that the rate for his 65-gallon garbage toter had gone up from $16.90 to $23.82. Hadn't government officials promised earlier that rates would remain unchanged? he said.

Given the higher rate, Gafner questioned why the city and county wanted to change garbage companies. "There was nothing wrong with the old service," he said.

According to Greg Pirie of the county CEO's office, residents in the unincorporated areas are paying a higher rate for 65-gallon garbage carts because the rate had been held artificially low for years.

The new 65-gallon rate is proportional to the 35-gallon and 95-gallon rates which either stayed the same or declined, he said.

Napa County Recycling was the low bidder for the new franchise, Pirie noted. Waste Management had proposed even higher rates, he said.

In the city, residential rates stayed the same except for the 65-gallon toter which went up $1.50 to $23.04. This rate remains artificially low considering that a 35-gallon toter costs more than $19, Miller said.

Many customers with 65-gallon garbage carts are switching to 35-gallon, finding that they can now recycle more of their discards, Miller said. The new franchise offers single-stream recycling, with customers able to mix an expanded list of items in a free 95-gallon recycling cart.

Customers can speed collections by not putting out their recycling toters on weeks when they are less than half full, Kelley said.

Customers sometimes call to complain that they have been skipped, not realizing that while the new company has retained traditional pick-up days, it may have juggled the timing, Miller said.

A customer used to having garbage picked up early in the morning may now have late afternoon service or vice versa, he said. Carts should be at the curb by 6 a.m., he said.

Old Waste Management customers who paid $30 deposits should expect a refund from Waste Management during December, Kelley said.

The new company is not requiring deposits of carryover customers, although new ones will have to put money down to start service.

Customers with issues with the old company for service prior to Oct. 1 should contact Waste Management by phoning (866) 809-5119 or write: Waste Management, 172 98th St., Oakland, CA 94603.