Dec 28, 2023 By Jon Andreassi 5 min read

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Municipalities in the region are gearing up for a steep increase for garbage collection next year.

Once the clock rolls over into 2024, many in southwestern Pennsylvania can expect to start paying more for garbage collection.

In November Peters Township approved a hike to rates in light of the municipality’s new four-year contract with Waste Management. Residents can expect to pay $100 quarterly, a 27% increase over the previous $70.

Peters is just one of more than 20 communities that signed a new refuse collection contract through the South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG), and costs have gone up across the board. How much those costs are passed on to customers varies from municipality to municipality.

Sue Dawson, administrative assistant for SHACOG, said in an email that the organization does not, “have any information why the prices have increased the way they have,” and referred questions to Waste Management.

Waste Management responded to emailed questions concerning the changes to service next year.

“Like most businesses are experiencing, the cost of providing service has increased exponentially, especially over the past year,” said Erika Deyarmin Young, public affairs manager for Waste Management in western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “(Waste Management) is awarded municipal work through a bid process, where the community has the opportunity to award the service to the lowest, responsible bidder.”

Bethel Park approved the Waste Management contract in August. According to the meeting minutes, they will pay $3.5 million for waste collection next year, a $1.2 million increase.

Bethel Park residents pay for garbage through their property tax, which is due to go up by 0.75 mills in 2024.

In Dormont, residents are looking at a 47% increase in their garbage fees. Assistant Borough Manager Krista Watt said the annual cost for a single family home will jump to $329.44, up from $224.

Watt described a perfect storm of factors that led to the new contract being such a substantial spike.

“You’re seeing increased worker compensation costs. It’s one of the more dangerous jobs that exist. As well as the need for new equipment to protect their workers,” Watt

More crucially, however, Watt points out that the expiring contract was first put into five years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. While prices remained steady under the previous contract, the bill is coming due for a drastically different economy.

“Wages across the country rose,” Watt said. “Now they have to catch up with it.”

While the monthly cost for garbage collection in Peters works out to be about $33, the township itself pays about $28 per month per customer.

Councilmember Gary Stiegel explained that delinquent bills are a factor in this difference.

“A lot of that is going to be due to the non-paying people. The township covers that, and the difference gets passed on to residents.”

Uniontown Mayor Bill Gerke said that delinquency is a big factor in driving up their costs.

The city approved a new contract with County Hauling in October. Weekly trash collection will now cost $28.50 per month, up from $14.95.

Gerke said that 32% of the bills in Uniontown are delinquent.

“Only 68% of residents are paying their garbage bills. They’re only collecting two-thirds of the garbage bills. People that are paying are paying for the people who aren’t. The cost of doing business, that always comes into play. That’s a big driving force,” Gerke said.

Gerke added this also affects the bidding process. He said that a high rate of delinquent bills is a red flag to haulers, and that County Hauling was the only bid they received.

The situation is similar in Connellsville. Under their new contract with County Hauling, monthly prices are going from about $19 to $26.80.

“Number one, fuel cost alone,” said Vern Ohler, Connellsville city clerk, about the increased rates. “If you look around at the increases, delinquency is another thing that drives the rates up.”

According to Ohler, this year the city entered into an agreement with the Connellsville Municipal Authority to have the authority handle billing for garbage fees. He said this will help provide better enforcement on delinquent bills.

“As the authority they have more teeth, more tools in their toolbox,” Ohler said.

Along with price increases, people will also have to adjust to Waste Management’s new system of automated collection, which allows employees to collect garbage without getting out of the truck. Customers in most communities will be provided a single bin, with additional bins available for a fee. Waste Management will no longer take loose bags of garbage.

According to Young, this change comes down to safety, efficiency and cost.

“Automated collection is safer and more efficient for our front line team members. In addition, this type of service helps keep costs low because our automated collection trucks only require a one-person team to service the customer. Customers are limited to what fits in the carts because our automated collection system cannot collect material outside of the carts,” Young said.

The increases in garbage collection caught many off guard, but officials are hoping to avoid repeating that when it comes time to negotiate a new contract.

“We are looking into, what are we going to do 5 years from now? This was something that a lot of communities didn’t see until it was too close,” Watt said. “We’ve been trying to research as much as possible to prepare for the future.”