There are many variables that affect pricing in the trash and recyclable hauling industry, so much so that “comparing rates between Brandywine Hundred and Laurel is like comparing apples and oranges,” said Michael Parkowski, manager of business services and government relations for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority.
Variables include the concentration of customers in a neighborhood, the distance from the hauler’s base, travel distance and time to disposal sites for trash and recyclables, and the type of agreement the hauler has for disposing of recyclables.
But the change to universal recycling has more customers looking closely at what they’re paying for the services, and they’re doing more shopping around, said Jim Short of the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “I’m more confident now than I was a few weeks ago that many people will end up paying less than they are now,” he said.
Here are some tips from Short and Parkowski that can help lower your trash/recycling expenses and keeping them from going up:
- Recycle as much as possible. This enables your trash hauler to pay less in landfill “tipping fees” and, depending on how the hauler handles recyclables, may increase the hauler’s revenue from recyclables. Ultimately, this should help the hauler hold down (and possibly reduce) collection charges.
- Compare fees and seek group rates. After seeing her trash bill increase several times, Pat Powell of Holiday Hills decided to shop around. She got her civic association involved. They solicited bids from a half-dozen haulers. The result: Evergreen Waste Services is offering Holiday Hills residents weekly trash and recyclable hauling for $60 a quarter ($75 with yard waste pickup). Powell had been paying $108 per quarter for full service, with an increase to $123 on the way. “Evergreen cut our costs almost in half,” Powell said.
Check to see whether your hauler has received a grant or low-interest loan from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to help finance its recycling operation. A listing will soon be posted on the recycling pages of DNREC’s website. Unless tipping fees increase or gasoline prices soar further, grant or loan recipients are not allowed to raise their fees for trash hauling until March 1, 2013.