Joe Horaney with Linn County Solid Waste said a number of their rates will increase this July.
Tipping fees will increase from $42 to $45. Rates for vehicles will also see slight increases, with the cost for a car going up to $12, an SUV or van going up to $15 flat fee and pickups going up to $22.
“I always noted that it is cheaper for most citizens to participate in their curbside trash service then hauling garbage to the dump,” Horaney said. “Save yourself some gas, time and money.”
The commercial recycling rate will go up to $90 per ton, up from $85.
Rates for items like appliances, tire disposal, medical sharps, and scrap metal will all remain the same.
Horaney also gave an update on Forward 2044, the plans for waste in the future in Linn County when the current landfill will no longer be in use.
Because of the derecho, it is looking like the landfill will be coming to a close in 2038. The agency predicts they have 15 years of capacity left.
One of the biggest challenges is that 20 to 25 percent of waste across the county is organic.
“If we can find more ways to divert organic waste to things like composting, that would be a great help, but there are logistics items to overcome some of that,” Horaney said.
Linn County Solid Waste has already determined that there will not be a new landfill in Linn County, and the plan is still looking for a partnership to handle trash for the county.
“It’s more likely we’ll use a transfer station instead,” Horaney said.
They had investigated the possibility of building an incinerator for garbage, but that comes at a $1 billion price tag, and Linn County would need to import garbage to a facility like that, as the county does not generate enough volume of trash to keep an incinerator running.