[Previous entry: "The Tongue: A Stroke Indicator?"] [Next entry: "Desi Whalen A Finalist In State Contest"]

01/24/2010: "56% Increase To Dump A Can Of Garbage"

By Allen Rosenberg

The solid waste rate proposal now in front of the Council raises the rate on a single self hauled can 56% (from $8 to $10.50 plus $2 gate fee).

In comparison, a typical San Juan Sanitation one-can-a-week customer will see a rate increase of about 19%. (The commercial tipping rate goes up 31%, but what San Juan Sanitation pays, now, for tipping fee amounts to only about 60% of their customer price, the rest covering their expenses and regulated profit.)

The effective rate per ton for the single can self hauler, if they fill the can to the maximum 54 pounds, goes to $463/ton. If it’s only 40 pounds, as is more typical, it’s $625/ton.

Today, the self haul tipping fee is 49% more than commercial. In the new scheme including the new minimum and gate fee, it would be 80% more than commercial. If you haul a 40 pound can, it would be 143% more.

Somehow, it doesn’t seem fair, currently, and it gets much worse with the proposed new rates.

Please let your Council representative know what you think.