Effective July 1, 2010, some of the disposal rates, or tipping fees, at Metro Waste Authority’s Metro Park East Landfill will increase by $1 per ton.
This is only the fourth time in 14 years that Metro Waste Authority has increased rates; Metro Waste Authority’s board of directors has previously approved $1/ton ($1/2,000 pounds) increases in 1996, 2001 and 2005.
Metro Waste Authority will use the income generated by the increase to offset capital expenditures associated with future landfill cell development. A “cell” is a term used for an area that is lined and prepared to accept residential garbage. The current waste disposal cell will last until 2011 and three new cells will need to be developed over the course of the next nine years at an estimated cost of $24 million. This expense includes the construction, lining, testing, and environmental monitoring of the cells. While Metro Waste Authority is a public agency, it does not receive tax dollars. All of its programs and facilities are self-funded through fees paid by those who use them.
“This is the first time in five years that we have increased our rates at the landfill”, said Tom Hadden, Metro Waste Authority’s executive director. “While we are committed to keeping costs to residents stable, this one dollar increase was necessary due to growing costs and tougher landfill regulations.”
If the increase was a direct pass-through to residents, the average resident producing 2,000 pounds of trash per year (one ton) would see an increase on their home’s garbage collection rate of 12 cents per month or $1.44 a year.
The per-ton rates for residential, commercial and construction and demolition materials are summarized below:
Metro Park East Landfill
Effective July 1, 2010
Commercial $33, $17 minimum
Residential $33, $17 minimum
Construction and Demolition $34.80, $17 minimum
Cars $7 per load
Vans/SUV’s $12 per load
Pick-up Trucks (under 6,000 lbs gross) $17 per load
Compost It! Sticker Increase
Effective February 1, 2010, the single use Compost It! Stickers will increase by 10 cents per sticker, raising the price to $1.10 each. These stickers are used on brush bundles or with store-brand (brown paper) yard waste bags by residents of the cities of Altoona, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Prairie City, Urbandale, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights. The cost of the Compost It! bags remains $1.55 per bag or $7.75 per bundle. The increase is designed to offset increased operational costs of the Compost It! program. Any stickers already purchased by residents prior to February 1 at the $1.00 rate will still be valid for use.
The yard waste collected from residents is brought to Metro Waste Authority’s Metro Compost Center where it is turned into a useable soil amendment. The revenue from the sale of this compost also helps offset Metro Waste Authority’s yard waste collection and processing expenses. Designed as a user-fee based program, Compost It! expenses are covered by residents who bag their yard waste. Residents who instead mulch or compost do not subsidize their neighbor’s use of the program. Those expenses not covered by the purchase of the bags and stickers or by compost sales are offset by the user fees collected at the landfill.
The increases were approved by Metro Waste Authority’s Board of Directors in December 2009. Instead of waiting several years to implement rate changes, going forward the board will consider small incremental rate increases to cover rising costs of operating an environmentally sound landfill.
