Contact: Heather Overholser
Phone: 733-7678
Email: jcrecycling@tetonwyo.org

County raises tip fee to balance budget and set aside funds for capital equipment replacement

Teton County Commissioners Tuesday approved a 9% increase in the tip fee for landfill-bound solid waste at the Trash Transfer Station.  Effective July 1, 2012, the tip fee for trash disposal will go up from $90 per ton to $100 per ton. 

The tip fee for manure, clean dirt and sod was raised from $22.50 per ton to $32.50 per ton.  Tip fees for all other divertable materials: wood, yard waste, concrete, and scrap metal will remain the same.

According to Heather Overholser, Integrated Solid Waste & Recycling (ISWR) Division Chief, the tip fee increases will:

• Create a balanced budget for the ISWR division, which includes managing the daily operations of the Recycling Center, the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, and the Teton County Trash Transfer Station, including composting;

o   Cover additional fuel charges associated with the management and composting of manure, dirt and sod; and,

o   Allocate reserve funds for ISWR capital equipment replacement.

“ISWR is a self-funding division of Teton County which derives income from tip fees at the transfer station, sale of recyclables, and donations.  ISWR doesn’t rely on tax dollars to make up the difference if there is a shortfall,” said Overholser.   “Because the ISWR division is set up and operates as an enterprise fund, we require a balanced budget.  All of ISWR’s largest line items are contracts that come with previously agreed upon prices and annual escalators.  All of the revenues that we are projecting are reasonable for next year.  The only variable is the tip fee.  It’s our only opportunity to balance the budget.”

“We are sensitive to how tip fee increases impact residents and businesses.  We are researching other landfill options for Teton County to determine if there is a more economical option for waste disposal.  There is still much work to be done, but at this point it appears that taking waste to the Bonneville County Landfill in Idaho could result in a significant cost savings for FY2013, an estimated $155,000,” said Overholser. 

Overholser says it’s likely that trash collection service fees will increase following the transfer station tip fee increase.  “By recycling and producing less trash, businesses and individuals can save money.  Contact your trash hauler for options to decrease your trash service costs as your trash collection needs decrease due to recycling,” she said.  All household recyclable materials (except household hazardous waste and electronic waste) are accepted free of charge at the Recycling Center and seven community recycling sites throughout the valley. 

The current county recycling rate is 39.9% for the fiscal year to date (July 2011 – May 2012).  The national recycling rate is 34%, based on statistics supplied by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for 2010.  In the eleven months of the fiscal year, 13,740.4 tons of recyclable and compostable materials have been diverted from the landfill.  Each ton of waste that is diverted from the landfill through source reduction and recycling saves Teton County residents and businesses money.  The current rate of diversion has saved 27,481 cubic yards of space in the landfill.