Newly adopted and adjusted for size, San Juan County’s recycling fees will come in a range of prices – small, medium and large.
On Tuesday, the county council approved a three-tiered package of recycling fees – $5, $25, $50 – in its long-running effort to bolster the bottom line of the solid waste division, a $2 million-plus yearly enterprise.
The county solid-waste operation, financed mostly by tipping fees, the price one pays to dispose of garbage, has struggled to cover expenses in the wake of a two-year, precipitous decline in the amount of garbage it collects. Solid Waste will dispose of roughly 4,000 fewer tons of garbage this year than it did just three years ago.
The new slate of recycling fees, which target self-haul customers and go into effect at the start of the new year, are expected to generate $400,000 to $500,000 over the next 12 months, according to county administrator Pete Rose.
Councilman Howie Rosenfeld described the fees as a “good first step” in helping to cover the cost of recycling and for keeping the Solid Waste budget in balance in 2011. He maintains, however, that the expense side of the solid waste ledger, and the cost it incurs for processing recyclables in particular, needs to be explored and better understood.
“We haven’t really investigated what it’s costing our staff to be doing what we’re doing,” he said.
Ushered in by the council earlier this fall, the county’s first-ever charge on recycling, a flat $5 fee that applies only when recyclables are disposed by themselves and without regard to volume, went into effect in October. (Tipping fees will remain unchanged – at this point – in 2011).
The era of free recycling is not entirely over, however, as the council agreed to allow for a modest amount of recycled material – the equivalent of a standard shopping bag – to be dropped off without charge if it’s done at the same time one is paying to dispose of garbage as well.
Recycling fees
• $5: 1 cubic yard or up to 6 cans (32 gallon).
• $25: 1-2 cubic yards or up to 12 cans.
• $50: 2-plus cubic yards or more than 12 cans.
For more information on recycling in San Juan County, visit the county’s recycling Web page.
