Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rogers trash, recycling rates may increase
Collection rates raised in other NWA cities this year
ROGERS — Residential garbage and recycling fees will increase about 18 percent if the City Council approves the proposal.
The City Council’s Public Works Committee on Tuesday tabled the fee-increase vote until its March 12 meeting to give council members more time to review the request. The full council will vote on the increase later that night. Residents always have a chance to address the mayor and council during a public comment period at the start of City Council meetings.
Fees for curbside garbage and recycling pickup would increase from $15.15 to $17.93 a month for the standard 96-gallon cart. The monthly fee for the 64-gallon cart would go from $14.72 to $17.45.
Inland Waste Solutions, the company the city contracts with to collect trash and recycling, asked for a 4.8 per- cent increase in 2018, said Kevin Gardner, division general manager at the company.
Gardner said the company asked for a higher increase this year because its expenses increased. The company takes Rogers’ recyclables to Mark Recycling in Rogers. Mark Recycling in the past year started charging a tipping fee of $55 per ton.
Inland also started paying more to dump garbage at Waste Management’s Eco-Vista Landfill in Tontitown. The disposal fee increased from about $28 per ton to about $33 per ton, he said.
None of the 18 percent increase is per the city’s request.
Without the new recycling fee and increased disposal fee, Inland would have asked for a 7.2 percent increase, Gardner said.
Mandy McDonald Brashear, public works committee member, said she struggled with supporting
the increase because the recycling company’s new tipping fee is largely the reason for the increase, and residents pay for recycling regardless of whether they use the service.
“For a customer to be able to have an increase this size, I have to be able to explain that to them, and this is a difficult story to tell,” she said.
Council members Jerry Carmichael and Betsy Reithemeyer, who aren’t on the Public Works Committee, said they hadn’t seen Inland’s document detailing why the rate increase is needed, and Reithemeyer asked the committee to table the vote until the next meeting.
Committee member Gary Townzen said he reviewed the document and the numbers looked fair.
“This is serious, no doubt about it. It’s a huge increase. No one likes an increase,” Townzen said.
The nearly $3-a-month increase can be significant to people on a fixed income if it’s on top of other price increases, such as rent or medication, said Joel Doelger, director of community relations and housing counseling at Credit Counseling of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
The organization offers free assistance to help people budget and manage their money. Most of its clients live on less than 80 percent of the median household income, Doelger said. The median household income in Rogers was about $54,000 from 2013 to 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Eighty percent of that is $43,200.
Garbage and recycling pickup rates in other Northwest Arkansas cities also increased this year.
Springdale residents pay $15.58 for curbside garbage and recycling pickup, said Wyman Morgan, administration and financial services director. The fee increased in December from $15.24.
Garbage and recycling collection in Bentonville costs $13.89 a month, a 3.6 percent increase took effect in October, said Jerry Walls, customer account supervisor. He expects the rate to increase again in October.
Fayetteville has a “pay as you throw” approach to rates, meaning residents have the choice between a 32-, 64or 96-gallon trash cart that cost $9.47, $14.46 and $20.52 per month, respectively, said Brian Pugh, waste reduction coordinator.
The fee includes up to two recycle bins, yard waste pickup and an annual bulk waste pickup.
Residents in April will see rates increase to $10.16, $15.52 and $22.03, Pugh said. The increase this year was a little more than usual because the city is beginning a program to collect food waste from commercial properties, such as restaurants.
Springdale and Bentonville contract with Waste Management and Republic Services, respectively, for trash and recycling services. Fayetteville provides the services through the city.