Due to regulatory mandates, WPWMA required to increase rates

Several large dumptsters are lined up and labeled for different types of products.

Due to our long-range financial strategy to ensure sufficient operating revenue, balanced budgets and compliance with state mandates to divert organic waste, it is necessary to increase our tipping fees. See the adjusted fee schedule here.

 

The Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) Board of Directors approved a rate increase necessary to comply with the California Legislature’s new mandate to divert 75% of organic waste (food waste, yard waste, paper) disposal by 2025 (SB 1383, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016). The rate increase will take effect July 1, 2021.  

 

“We employ a long-range financial strategy to ensure sufficient revenue and balanced budgets,” said Ken Grehm, Executive Director of the WPWMA. “We’ll be ready for tomorrow because we forecast the region’s needs and the State of California’s mandates and then realistically account for them in each budget year.”

 

The projected uptick in operating costs is due to state regulations that have led to the WPWMA’s current competitive procurement process to select a future contractor to operate the Materials Recovery Facility and the Western Regional Sanitary Landfill. The current Materials Recovery Facility is not designed to comply with the new regulations and will require a significant capital investment, necessitating an increase in fees.

 

“Meeting the future needs of western Placer County residents and businesses through responsible solid waste management requires vigilance and a cautious approach toward ever-changing events and circumstances,” Grehm says. “These fee adjustments will help address the financial implications of complying with regulations, supporting planned regional growth and creating opportunities for innovation.” 

 

The WPWMA estimates the fee increase could result in an increase of $2 to $3 per month to a typical Western Placer County resident’s garbage service rates, although other factors approved by each jurisdiction could influence the exact amount of the rate payer’s monthly costs. While the WPWMA Board projects that there will be future fee increases in subsequent years, they are proud to have kept rates as low as possible for residents in light of the economic impact of the 2020 pandemic. To lessen the financial impact on businesses especially impacted by COVID-19, the WPWMA Board of Directors voted to keep organic commercial food waste rates at 2020 levels for an additional year.